Jake Paul has been told that he should avoid fighting Michael Bisping, and instead take on Anderson Silva in his next bout.
Former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier believes that Paul shouldn't face Bisping, who has just one eye and a series of knee issues. He thinks that a more legitimate challenge would be a different ex-UFC middleweight champion in Silva.
The Brazilian is one of the most renowned strikers in MMA history, and has a 3-1 professional boxing record with two of those wins coming last year. He most recently knocked out Tito Oritz within a round, having previously beaten ex-world champion boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in his first bout in the squared circle since 2005.
And Cormier believes he will pose a legitimate problem for Paul, who is 5-0 as a professional but has yet to face anybody with a boxing record further than a couple of white collar bouts. “You want an older guy to fight?” Cormier joked during a recent video on his YouTube chanel.
“There’s a former UFC champion that is doing exactly what you’re doing. His name’s Anderson Silva. That’s who you should be fighting, Jake. That’s who you should be calling out!”
Cormier is not a fan of Paul's having gotten into an altercation with the YouTube star during UFC 261. And he has been unimpressed with Paul's efforts to lure 43-year-old Bisping, who retired in part due to the loss of his eye, out of retirement for a wildly dangerous match-up.
Instead, he feels Paul should be proving himself against Silva, who has been winning fights and has a longer reach as well as a height advantage. Silva returns to the ring on May 14 for a bout with Bruno Machado on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's boxing exhibition with Don Moore.
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“You should be calling out Anderson," Cormier implored. "Not Michael Bisping. That’s the fight. Not only does that fight fit the mould of what you’re doing, that fight actually gives us some idea of what this thing is that you’re trying to do or portray.
“If you really want to show the world, if you really want to prove that this is a second career for Jake Paul, fight Anderson Silva. That’s fun because Anderson Silva is still an amateur boxer, but he’s still training, and he’s still fit.
“If Jake Paul wants to be considered real and Jake Paul wants to be an actual fighter, you’ve got to fight somebody that is more in the game. And that person to me is Anderson Silva."
Silva is considered one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, and has had a rebirth in the boxing world since leaving the promotion in 2020. He had lost seven of his last nine MMA fights, but has since gone unbeaten in the squared circle.
