UFC legend Anderson Silva has refuted Jake Paul 's claim that their upcoming fight could be the biggest payday of his illustrious fighting career.
Silva, 47, looks to hand Paul, 25, his first boxing loss when the pair fight on October 29 at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix. Paul has admitted that Silva, who is widely considered one of the best UFC fighters ever, is his toughest challenge to date. The YouTube star thinks his fight with Silva will do well on pay-per-view and it could lead to the highest payday of the Brazilian's career to date.
“I think this could be the biggest payday of his career,” Paul told MMA Fighting. “Just because this is like my first big fight. As crazy as that sounds, all the other fights have been like, decent, but this is the first big, big fight, with another massive name who brings a ton of business to the table.
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“Tyron Woodley never really sold that many pay-per-views. Ben Askren didn’t sell any PPVs. Nate Robinson never fought. [AnEsonGib] doesn’t sell PPVs – the stadium was empty when Gib fought. So this is the first time I’m fighting someone who brings just as much to the table as I do.”
Many of Silva's past UFC purses remain unclear as he likely banked a percentage of the pay-per-view sales on top of a guaranteed purse for his championship fights. Paul recently challenged Silva's old boss Dana White to a $5million bet on their upcoming fight, claiming the UFC president still owes him $1million after predicting Askren would beat him last year.
Despite Paul's comments, Silva has insisted their fight won't be the biggest payday he's banked from a fight in his career. "No, it's not true," he said. "I don't like to talk about money because I'm not here for money. Thanks to god I have money to take care of my family. I'm not a rich guy but I try to live a good life and don't spend money on things that aren't important.
"I think fighters do need to paid good for putting their life in danger but more important for me now is to continue fighting. Nobody start in my generation continue to fight at the same level I fight. When I wake up everyday to train with my kids and spar with these younger guys, I try to continue respecting the sport that built my life and pass it on to new generations."
