UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling admits he was "blown away" by Jake Paul 's performance in his win against Anderson Silva.
Paul, 25, extended his unbeaten record to six professional fights win this past weekend by winning a unanimous decision against 47-year-old Silva. The YouTuber-turned-boxer has continued to up his level of competition since making his pro debut, arguably having his best performance against his toughest opponent to date in Silva.
Sterling, who defended his title earlier this month against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280, posted a video of Paul landing a three-punch combination on Silva during their fight with the caption: "I’m actually blown away by Jake Paul's performance against a GOAT of MMA. Despite the age difference, Jake showed that he can legit box. Fun boxing scrap. Silva can still heat as well!"
Paul replied by inviting Sterling to join the proposed MMA fighters association that Silva will help him start up having lost their pre-fight bet, of which Paul would have rematched Silva in kickboxing if he lost. "Appreciate you champ," Paul wrote. "We will be reaching out to you to discuss the United Fighters Association. We could use your help and leadership." Paul has also called upon UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou to join his proposed union.
The idea of an MMA association has previously been discussed, with one campaign being spearheaded by former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and Cain Velasquez in 2016. Despite some strong pushes from certain fighters, an official fighters union has never been introduced in the sport but that could now change as Paul and Silva look to recruit top names in the UFC such as Sterling.
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Paul kept up his feud with UFC boss Dana White by promising to improve conditions for fighters in the promotion, stating: "[Dana] is in hiding. He’s trying to do everything he can to stop my run, to sabotage my fights. He hates me. He hates what I’m doing. He hates that I’m exposing his business.
"Now we’re gonna band together and create a united fighters’ association to help UFC fighters, all MMA fighters and boxers to get more fighter pay, long-term health care. That’s a big, big undertaking that I’ve been wanting to do for the whole entire time of my career since I met Nakisa [Bidarian]. I said it to him on the first day: I want to make a fighters’ union. So, Dana White can suck this d***."
