Jake Paul kept up a tradition of making pre-fight bets with his opponents by shaking on a potential rematch with Anderson Silva in a different sport.
Paul, 25, is no stranger to upping the stakes with his opponents, previously making a tattoo bet with former UFC champion Tyron Woodley before their fight last August. Woodley had to have his name tattooed on his finger after losing a close decision to Paul and 47-year-old Silva will have to help start up an MMA association if he loses to the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
There is a caveat however, as Paul agreed to rematch Silva in kickboxing if he suffers his first professional boxing loss to the UFC legend. 'The Problem Child' suggested the pair should fight in MMA if Silva wins, but the Brazilian rejected the offer having retired from his duties in the cage two years ago and they settled on kickboxing as the discipline for a potential rematch.
"I have a bet for you Anderson, it's a good one. If you win, I will fight you in a MMA fight," Paul said at their pre-fight press conference before Silva replied: "You are so smart, because I don't fight MMA anymore!" The pair then agreed a rematch would take place in kickboxing, before Paul stated: "If I win, me and you come together to create a united fighters association to help UFC fighters get better pay and health care. You become the interim president and we unite to help these fighters once and for all."
Several MMA associations have previously been discussed, with the most prominent one being spearheaded by former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and Cain Velasquez in 2016. Despite some of the fighters best efforts, an official association has never come to fruition but that could change if Paul scores his sixth professional win by beating Silva. 'The Spider' was not part of the association that failed six years ago, but has promised to join Paul in his efforts to improve conditions for MMA fighters.
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Paul thinks it's important that high-profile UFC champions such as Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya also get behind the idea to kickstart a new association, stating: "Not a UFC fighters association, but MMA association to help all MMA fighters, increasing fighter pay and getting them long-term healthcare. We need all the help we can get, Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya. Andre Ward has spoken about this before and Georges St-Pierre. I think Anderson is a great start [for it]."
