Jake Paul has vowed to "shut up" UFC president Dana White by beating MMA legend Anderson Silva in their boxing fight.
YouTube star Paul will make his sixth professional ring appearance when he takes on former UFC champion Silva in Phoenix on Saturday night. This is arguably the toughest examination of Paul's career given the Brazilian's prior experience in the sport which includes a win over former world title holder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Paul has shared a long-term rivalry with UFC kingpin White who has been a frequent critic of his boxing career, and previously proposed he should face a "real" fight against Silva before Paul signed the agreement. And the American star believes he is the underdog going into the fight and is expecting a tough night.
“If you remember, Dana White is the one that said I wouldn’t take this fight, he said I would be scared, he said Anderson is one of the greatest strikers in the world,” Paul told the UFC's pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski in an interview with Main Event when discussing White.
“So my motivation is largely, in part, is to shut Dana White up, and this is just a really good match-up, it’s going to sell a lot of pay-per-views and it’s a test. I love to challenge myself and no one’s going to tune into one of my fights if I’m just fighting a garbage man like how Tommy Fury does or how KSI does.
“I’m the underdog going into this fight, so people are betting against me and I know it’s going to be tough, I know I will have to fight a perfect fight to be able to beat him, but I love a challenge and I love to prove people wrong because I don’t think a lot of people think I can win.”
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White has not addressed the fight since its confirmation, but did hand Paul rare praise when speculation suggested the fight would be completed. Paul has taken issue to White since beginning his career in boxing, which has largely been down to his reluctance to release UFC fighters for crossover boxing bouts.
The content creator has also criticised White on a number of topics including UFC fighter pay while also dropping a 'diss track' which targeted him and fighters Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. Paul has claimed this week that White has been trying to "hurt" the chances of his fight with Silva being a success.
He tweeted in a public statement: "Dana White is doing everything he can to hurt the Anderson Silva pay-per-view promotion. The same Silva he said I would never fight. The same Silva he has kept out of UFC Hall of Fame. Just shows how much he fears what I’m doing. Trust me change is coming and we are getting organised."
