Jake Paul and Anderson Silva squared off in a Cruiserweight boxing match last night (Sat., Oct. 29, 2022) inside Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. When it was all said and done, Paul won a unanimous decision after eight rounds. In further action, Chris Avila beat Mikhail “Dr. Mike” Varshavski silly, while Ashton Sylve knocked out Braulio Rodriguez in the first round.
Biggest Winner: Jake Paul
Love him or hate him, Paul showed a bit more last night that may have won him some new fans and perhaps silenced some naysayers after out-scoring former UFC Middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, who was 3-1 as a professional boxer coming into the fight. While Silva did connect some hard shots on the YouTube personality, Paul ate them and kept coming to connect some of his own, dropping “The Spider” with a solid shot in the final round. The win pushes Paul to 6-0, giving him further ammunition to pump up his next fight and bragging rights for days, which you know he will take advantage of every chance he gets. Still, fight after fight, Paul’s confidence is only growing and his skills are getting a bit sharper, and his latest conquest sets him up for another big fight and payday next. Hello, Nate Diaz?
Runner Up: Uriah Hall
Hall kicked off his post-UFC career by winning his professional boxing debut. Granted, it wasn’t against a world-class boxer or even a former UFC fighter such as himself, instead he took on — and defeated — former NFL star running back, Le’Veon Bell. The fight went the full four rounds. And while it wasn’t a master class in the “sweet science,” Hall did enough to earn the nod, while getting his feet wet in a new combat arena. While he likely won’t get a fight against Paul — and the big pay day that comes with it — next, Hall got a taste of what it’s like to put on the boxing gloves, which gives him something to build from if he truly wants to make a run at this thing.
Biggest Loser: Anderson Silva
I hate to put Silva here because it’s not like he had a bad performance, but did you ever think you’d see the day that the man who was once the pound-for-pound king in MMA, one of the most dominant UFC champions ever, lose to a YouTube and social media personality 22 years younger than him? I get it, “The Spider” is far past his prime, but you still felt that at the end of the day if anyone was going to tear the big tent down in the Jake Paul circus it would be Silva. At times it seemed like he could have done a bit more and capitalized on opportunities to actually hurt “The Problem Child,” but he failed to do so. He started off strong, but he cooled off in the final rounds. Losing to Paul perhaps isn’t the biggest knock now as it would have been say three years ago, but Silva’s legacy may have taken a bit of a hit with the defeat (his bank account didn’t). Still, it hurts to see this living legend lose to guys he would have creamed 10 years ago.
For complete Showtime: “Paul vs. Silva” results, click HERE!