Jake Paul: Anderson Silva Proved MMA Fighters Can Box

Anderson Silva made his return to the sport of boxing, gracing the ring for the first time since 2005, against Julio Cesar Chavez on June 19, 2021. Although he came into the fight as a hefty underdog, touting a +500 betting line, he ended as the victor and successfully upset the former WBC middleweight champion. Silva, with just three professional boxing matches, now owns a record of 2-1 in the sport. He has lost his last three bouts for the UFC, being without a win since February of 2017.

And of course, with notoriety behind Silva’s name a successful boxing match to boot, Jake Paul decided to chime in and share his thoughts.

“Anderson’s 46 years old, and I thought he did an incredible job,” Paul told TMZ. He was sticking and moving, bouncing around the ring, having fun, was throwing combos. He’s long and lanky and to come in there and beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who’s what, 50? Wins in the ring, is a world champion … this just goes to show that MMA strikers are also great boxers, and I think a lot of people forget that. That is the first skill that MMA fighters learn if they’re going to learn how to fight, is boxing. So I thought he looked amazing.”

Paul is usually not one to applaud the performance of a mixed martial artist, being that he has boxed one and has another upcoming. However, after Silva won, Paul publicly shared this newly found sentiment that MMA fighters can box and strike successfully even when crossing sports.

Paul’s next bout is scheduled for August 28th on PPV against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. This sparked attention during the pre-fight of Paul vs. Ben Askren and has now come to life for public consumption.

If Jake Paul is correct, will Woodley uphold the virtue that Anderson Silva sparked being that MMA fighters can transfer their striking skills to boxing and leave the ring victorious?