Jake Paul may have bitten off more than his mouth can chew.
Earlier this month, Paul was expected to make his sixth appearance in the squared circle, taking on Hasim Rahman Jr. in the world-famous Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for “The Problem Child,” his first pairing with a “real boxer” was scrapped after Rahman refused to make the agreed-upon weight. Each has moved on and Paul is now being linked to an Oct. 2022 clash with mixed martial arts (MMA) legend, Anderson Silva.
During his prime, Silva was one of the most dominant and exciting champions in MMA history, defending his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title 10 times. Since his UFC and MMA departure in late 2020, Silva, 47, has successfully won two professional boxing matches in 2021 against the likes of Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz, with a Bruno Machado exhibition coming in May 2022.
Amongst Paul’s previous five opponents, they’ve been wrestling-based former MMA fighters, a former Nationa Basketball Association (NBA) player, and a fellow YouTuber. So, with all things considered, Paul’s promoter rival who was once Silva’s boss, UFC President, Dana White, is satisfied with the pairing.
“I don’t give a s—t about [Jake Paul], but if he’s really fighting Anderson Silva, if that’s true, it’s about time,” White told media after Contender Series last night (Tues., Aug. 30, 2022) (h/t MMA Fighting). “He’s got a real fight on his hands there, regardless of how old Anderson is. Yeah, that’s a real fight.”
Having had their back-and-forths since Paul burst onto the boxing scene, White is over the believed fad and won’t be bothered any longer.
“Stop asking me about Jake Paul, you guys,” White said. “I don’t give a s—t what Jake Paul does. I know you love this s—t, but c’mon, this guy has nothing to do with my business. He doesn’t fight for me, he’s not even in the same f—king sport as me. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I don’t care.”