YouTube celebrity and professional boxer Jake Paul is getting ready for his October 29 showdown against the all-time MMA great Anderson Silva. Having spent some time together in press conferences and interviews, ‘The Problem Child’ says that he quite likes his Brazilian opponent.
While speaking in an interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Paul said:
“I think he’s a real, real professional. We have a lot of similarities in just having fun throughout the day and making light of a ton of situations. Just being a good genuine guy. He has a big heart. And the people around him are really nice … All the way around a solid guy.”
When Jake Paul was young he looked up to ‘The Spider.’ So much so that he and his brother, Logan Paul, took a photo with the former UFC fighter when they were both children. Now, Paul will be staring across from a childhood hero when they box against each other on October 29. On fighting his childhood hero, Jake Paul said:
“I think the first 15 seconds of the fight will be a little bit weird … My brain is definitely going to be like ‘Why am I in the ring with Anderson Silva right now, this is really weird.’”
Paul said these feelings will disappear once he gets punched once by ‘The Spider.’
See below for the full interview with Jake Paul and MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn:
Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva
Brazil’s Anderson Silva is one of the all-time greats in MMA. ‘The Spider’ held the UFC middleweight title from 2006 to 2013 and in that time set the record for most successful title defenses in the UFC middleweight division with a whopping ten.
The Brazilian-born athlete struggled in his late career in MMA, however, found success when he transitioned to boxing. In 2021 he outpointed the former WBC champion Julio César Chávez Jr. and followed this up with a round-one knockout victory over former UFC champion Tito Ortiz.
Next, he will face the undefeated 5-0, Jake Paul. In his professional career, the 25-year-old YouTuber has earned KO victories over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, ONE titleholder Ben Askren, and NBA player Nate Robinson. Facing Anderson Silva will be the biggest test of his career.