Anderson Silva was threatened with a points deduction before being floored by a victorious Jake Paul on Saturday night.
The YouTuber-turned- boxer put his undefeated pro record on the line against the UFC legend, who himself went in having won his two previous boxing clashes since walking away from the octagon in 2020. And it was 'The Problem Child' who was ahead on all three scorecards going into the eighth and final round.
A strong right hand then sent Silva, 47, onto the canvas. The Brazilian recovered to make it to the final bell but it was Paul who took a unanimous decision with the scores of 78–73 (twice) and 77–74.
However, the margins could have been bigger had 'The Spider' not twice escaped a points deduction. He was warned by the referee he would lose a point at end of the third round, then again at the culmination of the seventh, for punching after the bell.
Indeed, during one break after the fourth round the official was heard telling Silva: “Listen, Anderson. This is a good fight, I don’t want you punching after the bell again. Do it again and I’ll take points away from you, do you understand? You punched right after the bell, don't do that no more. Listen to me, keep it clean.”
It wasn't the only notion with which Silva flirted with danger, with Paul himself warning his opponent at the start of the fourth for a perceived illegal move. Visibly frustrated with his opponent, the 25-year-old accused his rival of pulling his head down, which would also have resulted in a deduction had the referee agreed.
There was no such volatility after the clash though, with Silva admitting the better fighter won on the night: "Jake is better than me today because I tried to put my strategy into place," he conceded. "I talked to my coach in the room and I just couldn't find my distance. Jake was better than me tonight and that is it."
After going 6-0 in Arizona, Paul immediately turned his attention to another UFC icon, name-dropping Nate Diaz alongside boxing star Canelo Alvarez as potential opponents. He said: “I want Nate Diaz, he’s a b****. He tried to come into my locker room and cause some s*** then he always leaves the f****ng arena so Nate Diaz, stop being a b**** and fight me.
As for 'Saul', who previously doubted the influencer's chances against Silva, he added: "Canelo, you too. You guys said you can’t beat a striker and a legend like Anderson Silva, I just did it. So, why can’t I beat Canelo? F*** y’all.”
