5 reasons why Jake Paul will never fight Anderson Silva

After defeating Tyron Woodley, the biggest question surrounding Jake Paul is who’s next on his hit list?

One fighter to be linked with a fight with Jake Paul is former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva. But is this really a fight that ‘The Problem Child’ would take?

Jake Paul has talked a good game thus far, and to be fair, he has backed up his words in the squared circle for the most part. But realistically, a fight with Anderson Silva may not be something he’s keen on.

With that in mind, here are five reasons why Jake Paul will never fight Anderson Silva.

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#5. Jake Paul has little to gain by fighting a past-his-prime Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva's later UFC fights showed that he was miles past his prime

Longtime boxing fans might be willing to scoff at his skills in the ring, but Jake Paul has done surprisingly well in his fights thus far.

However, it’s definitely worth questioning the validity of Paul’s opponents to date. ‘The Problem Child’ is 4-0 in his boxing career. His first two wins came over a fellow YouTuber (AnEsonGib) and a former basketball player (Nate Robinson).

His most recent victories came over former UFC fighters - former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren. However, neither was renowned for their striking during their time in the octagon.

Essentially, Jake Paul does need a step up in his next fight if he wants to gain any validation from boxing fans. To be fair, Anderson Silva would definitely mark a step up.

However, ‘The Spider’ is still not a lifelong professional boxer. His background is largely in Brazilian Muay Thai. More to the point, he’s on the wrong side of 40. Towards the end of his UFC tenure, it was easily noticeable that he was miles past his prime.

With that considered, what would Jake Paul have to gain from fighting Anderson Silva? The real answer is very little. If he were to lose, it’d be disastrous. But if he were to win, he’d simply have another victory over a fighter miles past his best. From that perspective, it’s a fight that makes no sense.

#4. Anderson Silva’s skills and size mean that he’d still be a highly dangerous opponent for Jake Paul

Despite his age, Anderson Silva's size and skills would still make him a dangerous foe for Jake Paul

Jake Paul might’ve beaten everyone put in front of him thus far into his boxing career. However, the truth is that ‘The Problem Child’ enjoyed several advantages in each of his fights.

AnEsonGib was clearly not close to being a professional athlete and Nate Robinson had never fought in his life. Both Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley were past their prime and were better known for their grappling in their UFC days.

Paul also enjoyed a size advantage in each of those fights. ‘The Problem Child’ weighs around 195lbs – making him a cruiserweight in boxing. Askren and Woodley fought in the 170lbs welterweight division during their time in the UFC.

Anderson Silva, on the other hand, would almost certainly not be giving up any size to Jake Paul. ‘The Spider’ made his name fighting in the UFC’s middleweight (185lbs) division but would regularly step up to 205lbs with no issues whatsoever.

Standing at 6’2”, he’d also have a height and reach advantage over ‘The Problem Child.’

More to the point, unlike Woodley and Askren, Silva’s entire reputation in the UFC was built on his striking skills. His knockouts of fighters such as James Irvin, Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort are part of UFC legend.

Since moving into the world of boxing this year, he’s looked excellent too. He defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz with relative ease, the latter by knockout.

Essentially, ‘The Spider’ would represent a huge leap up in competition for Jake Paul. It’s likely that ‘The Problem Child’ knows this – and will thus avoid any kind of fight with the former UFC champ.

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#3. A loss for Jake Paul would give Dana White too much fuel to use in their war of words

Jake Paul has been involved in a public war of words with UFC President Dana White

The man that 'The Problem Child' is feuding with right now is UFC President Dana White.

Paul and White have taken numerous shots at one another in interviews and on social media. White has continually criticized the attention that the combat sports media have given 'The Problem Child.' He has stated on multiple occasions that he doesn't view the YouTube star as a 'real fighter.'

Paul, meanwhile, has thrown barbs at White for his refusal to allow current UFC fighters such as Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal to face him in the ring. He has also been highly critical of the UFC's pay structure.

While it might seem noble of Jake Paul to raise awareness on this issue, the truth is that he's simply antagonizing White to gain more publicity.

However, the only way 'The Problem Child' can win his war of words with White is to keep beating former UFC fighters inside the ring.

The UFC president knows this too. He also recognizes that Paul would probably not fare too well against Anderson Silva. This may be why he's been seemingly attempting to push a potential fight between the two in recent interviews.

Unsurprisingly, though, Paul has been quick to refute the idea – instead preferring to call out current UFC star Jorge Masvidal.

Why would he do this? Essentially, it’s likely that Paul knows he can’t beat Silva. If he were to lose to ‘The Spider,’ then he’d also lose his feud with Dana White in the process.

#2. Jake Paul can’t afford to lose, or his entire schtick is dead in the water

A loss for Jake Paul would probably end his entire schtick as the "new face of boxing"

Jake Paul likes to claim he’s the new face of boxing and the biggest star in combat sports. However, the YouTuber’s real talent lies in his ability to make people talk about him.

Paul clearly isn’t the most skilled fighter at this stage – even a casual boxing fan can probably see this based on his fights thus far. However, in terms of drawing power, there probably aren’t that many bigger names out there.

More to the point, Jake Paul is a highly divisive figure. Just as many people are probably paying in the hope of seeing him lose as they are hoping to see him win.

However, Paul’s schtick as the ultimate troll is largely contingent on him winning his fights. Every time he beats another opponent – even if they’re only a slight step up from the previous one – it gives him more ammunition to keep the train going.

If he were to lose, though, fans paying to see such a thing would have their appetite whetted. ‘The Problem Child’ would also lose his aura in a flash.

Would people still want to talk about him if he were to be knocked out? It’s debatable.

Conor McGregor has plenty of losses to his name and is still a bankable star, for instance. But the Irishman had already proven himself as an all-time great by the point he started losing.

For Jake Paul and his boxing career, though, a loss could signal doom. This would, in turn, mean he wouldn’t be making as much money. Essentially, ‘The Problem Child’ can’t afford to lose, which would make a fight with Anderson Silva far too risky at this stage.

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#1. A loss for Jake Paul would put a dampener on the lucrative world of celebrity boxing

Success for Jake Paul might be key to keeping the celebrity boxing fad going

Not only would Jake Paul have plenty to lose in a fight with Anderson Silva, but so would the entire house of cards of celebrity boxing.

Jake Paul might be the most talked-about star of this current fad, but he certainly isn’t the only online celebrity to attempt to use boxing to drum up more publicity.

His brother Logan Paul, for instance, has already faced Floyd Mayweather in a highly lucrative exhibition bout. June saw a bizarre ‘YouTubers vs. TikTokers’ boxing show that featured Austin McBroom facing Bryce Hall.

Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh has already promised that his platform will be looking at YouTube celebrities to unearth other “celebrity boxers” in the near future.

But while the world of celebrity boxing continues to roll right now, would it have much of a future if its biggest star were to be exposed as an amateur in a potential fight with Anderson Silva?

The honest answer is most likely no. Celebrity boxing essentially lives and dies by the idea that YouTube stars can hang in the ring with legitimate fighters. If that idea were to be proven wrong, the house of cards could quickly come tumbling down. That’s something that Jake Paul surely wouldn’t want to risk just yet.