Jake Paul has officially announced his next fight with a UFC legend, and it's only weeks away.
The boxer took to Twitter today (6 September) to confirm the news of his bout with Anderson Silva, admitting the fight would be his 'toughest test yet' after previously facing opponents including YouTuber AnEsonGib, former basketball player Nate Robinson and MMA fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
Paul's most recent fight was against Woodley in December 2021, with bouts against Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr. planned but both ultimately cancelled.
Hopefully the fight against Silva won't meet the same fate, as the UFC star has already been granted a professional boxing license to fight in Arizona, where he is set to face Paul next month.
Upon approving the application, the Arizona commissioner said: "Congratulations, Mr. Silva. We’re looking forward to what's to come."
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Silva replied: "I’m training hard every day. I’m keeping my mind busy and healthy. I’m so excited."
Paul called Silva a 'legend' in his tweet and admitted that he 'respects' him, but added: "He must be exterminated."
Boxing fans have made clear their excitement for the match, with many saying the fight is set to be a 'good one' while podcast host Joe Rogan commended Paul for his decision to take on the UFC fighter.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan commented: “If Jake Paul really decides to fight Anderson, that’s a very, very, very tough fight. Anderson, if he just went straight into boxing, would have been a f*cking world champion.”
“Jake Paul is one of the smartest marketers that the f*cking sport has ever seen,” Rogan continued. “And he can fight. The thing is, people think he’s this YouTube guy, and he can’t fight. The way he knocked out Tyron Woodley? Come the f*ck on.
“I’ve said this multiple times: If that guy was just a boxer and you never known anything about his background on YouTube and you saw him knock out Tyron Woodley with one shot, you’d be like, ‘Holy sh*t, there’s this new guy coming up, and he’s a bad motherf*cker. He’s really legit.'”
At 47 years old, Silva has enjoyed a reign as the UFC middleweight champion, won a split-decision over former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and successfully knocked out fellow UFC star Tito Ortiz.
The fight is set to take place on 29 October and will be available to watch on pay-per-view.
Emily Brown