Jake Paul drops Anderson Silva, wins by unanimous decision
Jake Paul (L) reacts after knocking down Anderson Silva of Brazil during their cruiserweight bout at Gila River Arena on October 29, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP
Jake Paul defeated Anderson Silva by unanimous decision in their eight-round bout Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
Paul took the cards 77-74, 78-73, 78-73.
Paul, 25, improved to 6-0 with four KOs. He has beaten MMA fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley previously but hadn’t fought since December, with his last two scheduled fights falling apart.
“It’s a surreal moment, hard work pays off,” Paul said. “First and foremost, I wanna say thank you to Anderson. He was my idol growing up, he inspired me to be great, Without him we wouldn’t have had a fight this year. He’s a tough mo-fo, like for real, legend. I have nothing but respect for him.”
Silva was the first fighter with a winning record that Paul has faced. The 47-year-old put together a 34-11 record in MMA and is 3-1 in boxing matches.
“Jake is better than me today,” Silva said. “I don’t have nothing to say bad about my opponent. I think everybody needs to respect this kid because he’s doing the best job. I trained hard, I am a warrior, and I know when a fight is hard. It’s a very hard fight for me today.”
On the undercard, former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell lost his pro boxing debut to Uriah Hall by unanimous decision. Hall took the four-round bout 40-36 across the cards.
