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Thus far, Jake Paul’s boxing career has seen him snack on smaller, overmatched or past-their-prime opponents, but could that be about to change?
Recent reports suggest that Jake Paul could face off against former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the near future, but would this be a good move for the YouTube star?
While ‘The Problem Child’ always comes across as confident, in this case, a fight with ‘The Spider’ would probably be a bad idea.
Here are five reasons why a fight with Anderson Silva is not worth the risk for Jake Paul.
#5. Jake Paul has little to gain by defeating Anderson Silva
Jake Paul’s boxing career has seen him make a name for himself by beating a pair of UFC veterans – Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley – who were past their prime, but even those two fighters were not quite as far gone as Anderson Silva is.
‘The Spider’ remains one of the greatest fighters to ever step into the octagon and his seven-year reign as middleweight champion is still one of the best title runs in UFC history. However, it’s arguable that the Brazilian’s prime ended when he first lost to Chris Weidman.
While that bout doesn’t seem too long ago, nearly a decade has in fact passed since Weidman knocked Silva out, and ‘The Spider’ is now just three years away from his 50th birthday.
When you consider that his MMA career ended on the back of three losses in a row – and an overall run of 1-7 – there’s an argument that Silva shouldn’t be stepping into the ring at all at this point.
With that in mind, what does Jake Paul have to gain by beating a once-great fighter who is pushing 50 and is so far past his prime? The answer, realistically, is nothing. He’s got far more to lose, in fact. Therefore, the bout just isn’t worth the risk.
#4. It’s unlikely Anderson Silva would buy into Jake Paul’s pre-fight build
Part of the appeal of a Jake Paul fight is in the build-up, as the YouTube star is a master of not only getting into the head of his opponents, but also gaining viral attention from the media for a variety of random stunts.
‘The Problem Child’ managed to draw extra interest in his bout with Tyron Woodley by making an odd bet that saw ‘The Chosen One’ have to tattoo ‘I love Jake Paul’ on his middle finger when he lost. He also stole the show from his brother Logan prior to his fight with Floyd Mayweather by stealing the boxer’s hat.
However, if he were to choose to fight Anderson Silva next, it’s unlikely that ‘The Spider’ would buy into any pre-fight hijinks from the YouTuber.
The Brazilian was famously part of one of the UFC’s most legendary feuds with Chael Sonnen, but in reality, all of the build for that fight came from Sonnen. Silva remained stoic throughout despite ‘The American Gangster’ hitting him with some incredible insults.
Essentially, if he’s faced with an opponent who won’t take his bait, then Paul simply won’t be able to build the fight to the levels that he’s been capable of in the past – meaning it’s fair to question what the point of the whole thing would be.
#3. Anderson Silva is still a highly dangerous fighter despite his age
Anderson Silva might be miles past his prime at this point, but even at the age of 47, he’s shown that he can still be highly dangerous against a less skilled opponent.
Sure, he was badly knocked out by Uriah Hall in his final UFC appearance, but despite his numerous flaws, Hall was, at the time, one of the best strikers in the middleweight division.
In contrast, when he was faced with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Tito Ortiz – two highly limited opponents – in the boxing ring, ‘The Spider’ dealt with them handily, famously dispatching Ortiz via knockout in the first round.
Thus far into his boxing career, Jake Paul has shown some skills, and ‘The Problem Child’ also clearly possesses knockout power. Could he really defeat Silva, though?
In all honesty, it’s debatable. Paul would have youth, athleticism and power on his side, but his experience levels are nowhere near Silva’s and he’s been used to fighting far less skilled strikers who were substantially smaller than him.
Overall, Silva would be Paul’s most dangerous foe thus far by a mile, and the truth is that with his level of experience, he’s an opponent that ‘The Problem Child’ ought to avoid for now.
#2. Jake Paul should aim to face a fighter with more drawing ability
When he somehow managed to draw a reported 1.45 million pay-per-view buys for his fight with Ben Askren in 2021, it looked like Jake Paul would quickly become one of boxing’s biggest stars, despite his controversial YouTube background.
However, that idea now seems premature given that reports suggested his second fight with Tyron Woodley, which took place last December, reportedly only drew around 65,000 buys – making it a lower-drawing event than even the UFC’s smallest pay-per-view shows.
It goes without saying that ‘The Problem Child’ will probably be desperate to ensure his next fight is a high-drawing one, but will a bout with Anderson Silva work in that degree? It’s highly debatable.
‘The Spider’ was undoubtedly one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in the UFC during his prime years, but in his most recent fights, his drawing power appeared to have vanished entirely.
His name barely made a dent in shows like UFC 237 and UFC 208, and when he faced Israel Adesanya in the headliner of UFC 234 in 2019, the event drew less than 200,000 buys.
Essentially, despite once being a huge star, it’s unlikely that Silva would draw any bigger of a number than Woodley did against Paul – meaning that ‘The Problem Child’ would probably be better off pursuing a fight with someone like fellow YouTuber KSI or social media villain Andrew Tate instead.
#1. Jake Paul’s hype train will end if he loses to Anderson Silva
The biggest reason that Jake Paul should not risk a fight with Anderson Silva is the fact that it’s highly likely that if he loses, his career as a boxer – and all the hype that he’s built with it – will end immediately.
‘The Problem Child’ has always styled himself as a serious boxer, but the fact is that he hasn’t behaved like a regular prospect that has only just turned professional. However, it’s probably fair to say that thanks to his huge following, he shouldn’t have to.
If anything, Paul’s career as a boxer is more comparable to Herschel Walker’s career as an MMA fighter than, say, Brock Lesnar’s run with the UFC.
Essentially, then, a loss at this stage of his career would ruin his aura for those fans who believe he’s a serious boxer. While it’d be enjoyable for those fans hoping to see him lose, once they’ve seen that there’d be no reason for them to see it happen again.
Either way, the YouTuber’s drawing power would probably be shattered for good, whereas if he were to win again, the gravy train would probably be able to continue rolling.
In that sense, ‘The Problem Child’ should be looking for a far more beatable opponent than Anderson Silva right now, rather than risk all that he’s built on a fight that might not even draw too hugely.
