After not 1, but 2 opponents fell through, Jake Paul’s next fight is finally set – he'll take on UFC legend Anderson Silva at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on 29 October.
The YouTube sensation hasn’t had much luck of late as he seeks to continue his fledgling boxing career. He has twice arranged a showdown with Tommy Fury to end their bitter feud, only for both attempts to fall through; Tyron Woodley had to step in when the Brit pulled out of their scheduled fight last December due to an injury and infection, and due to travel issues Fury was unable to fly to the United States for their planned bout in August this year. What’s more, his last-minute replacement for the latter, Hasim Rahman Jr., was unable to make weight, leading to that fight being cancelled altogether.
It has been a frustrating time for Paul, whose foray into the squared circle built up some healthy momentum in 2021. He kicked off the year with a sensational first-round knockout of former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren inside 2 minutes, before dispatching former UFC welterweight champ Woodley twice. These victories took his record to an unbeaten 5-0, after he turned pro in 2020.
However, that luck appears to have changed for Paul, a lifelong fan of Silva. Paul’s usual trash-talk of his opponent has been replaced with obvious admiration.
"All the fun of it aside, when we got into the face-off you see a different Anderson Silva than the one who is there up onstage having a jolly time," he said. "That's 'The Spider' Anderson that I saw in that face-off and you can tell he's got that killer in him, 100 per cent. It was weird but it felt right, it was felt like this was destined to happen. It was a surreal moment for sure, I never thought I'd be here and I'd be fighting one of my idols."
"It all comes down to the opponent, I didn't have respect for my [past] opponents as they came in talking and all of them were the ones who called me out."
Silva will be the biggest test of Paul’s career in the ring so far, though, so it promises to be a fascinating matchup. Unlike his previous opponents, the American does not have a size advantage here. The Brazilian is not only larger than him, but also renowned as one of the most skilful fighters the UFC has ever seen; Silva reigned as middleweight champion for a record 2,457 days between 2006 and 2013.
He has also shown more aptitude for boxing than his colleagues Askren or Woodley; he fought twice in 2021, beating former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.
It’s a must-watch fight, and what better way to take it in than in person? Tickets start at USD $60 plus fees, and you can find out more information about the event here.
