Jake Paul has announced he will face UFC legend Anderson Silva next month.
The YouTube star had planned to fight at Madison Square Garden in early August against Tommy Fury but the fight was shelved with the Briton banned from the United States.
Paul then drafted in Hasim Rahman Jr. for the August 6 date at the New York venue but that was canned after the opponent was unlikely to make the agreed catchweight limit.
The new fight will take place on October 29 at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Arizona and will be held at 187lbs over eight rounds.
The biggest fight of the year is happening Saturday, October 29th live from Phoenix, Arizona at Gila River Arena. #PaulSilva is official.
@GilaRiverArena @ShowtimeBoxing@jakepaul@SpiderAndersonpic.twitter.com/oQwMPqmwUR
— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) September 6, 2022
Paul, whose opponent Silva has a 2-0 record in boxing having defeated Bruno Machado and former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr since stepping into the squared circle, posted a video on social media to confirm the news of his next in-ring appearance.
He said at Twitter:
“It is an honour to be in there with the legendary Anderson Silva, although I’m going to knock him out in under five rounds.”
Paul has fought limited opposition to date, taking on fellow content creator AnEson Gib, dispatching him quickly before recording another highlight reel knockout against Nate Robinson.
Ben Askren was next for Paul, whose last two outings have come against another ex-UFC champion Tyron Woodley who he outpointed before knocking him out in the sixth round of their rematch last December.