‘You ain’t gonna see Jake Paul calling Anderson Silva out’
Dana White has ‘guaranteed’ that YouTube star Jake Paul won’t call out former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Silva is already 2-0 since returning to the boxing ring in June, having secured a huge upset win over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, as well as a first-round knockout of former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz.
Paul boasts a similar professional record, currently sitting at 4-0 – with his most recent victory coming at the expense of former UFC Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley.
Prior to defeating Woodley, the YouTube star turned professional boxer dominated Ben Askren in April, winning by a first-round TKO.
Whilst his last two fights have been against MMA fighters, White doesn’t believe that there is a chance that Paul will consider fighting Silva in his next bout.
“Anderson Silva might actually be the GOAT of combat sports,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters in attendance at the UFC Apex following Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 39 event. “It’ll be interesting to see what he does next.
“I f***ing guarantee you this: You ain’t gonna see Jake Paul calling Anderson Silva out. That I f***ing promise you. [Silva is] his size, and he’s actually good. He’s old, which is what Jake Paul likes to fight old guys. He likes to fight old guys that are too small and that are absolutely, positively washed up.”
Paul, who was speaking on “The MMA Hour,” recently said that he would be ‘honoured’ to fight Silva, 46, but only if the UFC legend was tested on a number of occasions to see if he was ‘actually good to get into the ring.’
The 24-year-old also suggested that he was concerned with the age gap between the pair, claiming that he ‘wouldn’t want to take out the old guy and have something similar to what happened in the Vitor Belfort vs. Evander Holyfield fight.’
As well as Silva, Paul has recently discussed the potential of a fight against Jorge Masvidal, challenging White to allow ‘Gamebred’ to box, regardless of that fact that he remains contracted with the UFC.
However, White was quick to respond to Paul’s ‘challenge’, and put the pressure straight back onto ‘The Problem Child’.
“Hey, Jake, Anderson’s out (of a UFC contract),” White joked. “Anderson Silva’s out, Jake. Jake? Jake?”
It remains to be see whether or not a boxing match between Paul and Silva is a realistic prospect, however, if it was to go ahead, it would likely be Paul’s toughest challenge yet.
