Jake Paul has forced Dana White to eat his words by announcing he will fight Anderson Silva despite the UFC boss insisting he would never do it.
The YouTuber will be back between the ropes next month against the former octagon champion.
Paul will meet Silva at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on October 29 in his first test against a boxer with a winning record. The 47-year-old is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters in history and appears to have had a rebirth in the boxing ring after leaving the UFC on a losing streak.
White and Paul have had an ongoing feud in which the 25-year-old has hit out at the UFC boss over fighter welfare issues such as pay and healthcare. In return, White has mocked Paul for his opponents including his former welterweight UFC champion Tyron Woodley and wrestler Ben Askren, and insisted he would shy away from the challenge of Silva.
Paul, in a video announcement on social media on Wednesday, thanked White for pushing his fight.
“I usually have to do all the work, but this time Dana White, Conor McGregor’s Dad, is promoting the fight for me, thank you.”
He then introduced a clip of White heaping praise on Silva, insisting that he may be the greatest athlete in the history of combat sports for his wins at the top level of both MMA and boxing.
https://twitter.com/jakepaul/status/1567228612113309697?s=20&t=dxA4KkI5OSAFFSOtFCyKMw
White had previously ‘guaranteed’ that Paul would not call out Silva.
He stated in a press conference a few months ago:
“We honestly need to start talking about this guy again as the GOAT [Greatest of All Time].
“It’ll be interesting to see what he does next and I f***ing guarantee you this, you ain’t going to see Jake Paul calling Anderson Silva out. That I f***ing promise you because he’s his size and he’s actually f***ing good, hey Jake, Anderson’s out. Jake? Jake? Jake?”
And finally, after slamming White for assuming he wouldn’t take on Silva, Paul – who 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 – agreed with his fellow American about the credentials of his next opponent.
After 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.
He concluded:
“I normally don’t agree with Dana. But he is right, Anderson Silva is literally the greatest MMA fighter of all time and one of the most versatile fighters in the history of combat sports.
“This fight was supposed to be after Tommy Fury because I’ve never fought a southpaw and this is a much tougher fight.”