UFC legend Anderson Silva has denied claims that he took a dive in his fight against Jake Paul.
Silva, 47, lost a unanimous decision to YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 26, when they fought last October in Arizona. The highlight of the fight came in the final round when Paul put together an impressive four-punch combination that dropped Silva. Fans were quick to question whether the punch that knocked Silva down landed after one angle showed Paul's glove not landing clean on Silva's chin.
Paul responded to the allegations by stating that he "lost faith in his generation" and Silva has also denied that he went to the canvas on purpose. "The people don't understand the fight game and they think 'oh Anderson is doing something behind the scenes with Jake' but it's not. Jake won the fight, I don't feel disrespected [by the fix claims] because I continued my legacy. It doesn't matter what people are talking about," Silva told TMZ.
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Silva thinks Paul doesn't get the respect he deserves for dedicating himself to boxing since ditching his internet fame for a career in the ring, adding: "Jake is a very young guy, he's very determined and training hard every day. The people don't give credit to him. Jake, continue to do your job, bro. You're doing amazing. I love you!"
'The Spider' is focusing on the positives from his loss to Paul and recognises that he made several mistakes in the fight. "I have a lot of experience and I made a lot of failures in the fight. I didn't have the strategy correct and I lost the fight and that's amazing because I continue to learn, continue to accept the new technique with my coach, and that's great," he said.
Paul is pencilled in to fight bitter rival Tommy Fury in the Middle East on February 25, with an official announcement for the fight expected in the coming days. 47-year-old Silva is far from retired as he wants to have at least two more boxing fights, but he will focus on two upcoming jiu-jitsu matches he has in Dubai for the time being.
"I'm just waiting for the next opportunity and situation," Silva said of his next boxing fight. "I have a match in Dubai with gi and no-gi so I'll go and do that first. I have my business in Brazil and I have my business here [in America] so after that, we'll see. I have two more fights in my life. Maybe a rematch [with Paul] in the future."
