Jake Paul finally returned to the ring on Saturday when he faced MMA legend and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Heading in, Silva was thought to be Paul's biggest test to date.
Silva provided Paul the challenge he needed in presenting a style the social media influencer had never seen before. To his credit, the 25-year-old stayed composed, presented a few new wrinkles and scored a knockdown in the eighth and final round to win by unanimous decision (78-73, 78-73, 77-74). DAZN had the fight scored 77-74 for Paul.
"The Problem Child" didn't come out firing as he usually does. Instead, he stayed composed. He worked, feinted, punched off the jab, pounded the body in the latter half of the fight and showed a left hook. To Silva's credit, whenever Paul would land the powerful right hand, "The Spider" took the shot well.
The 47-year-old provided Paul with problems. He continuously stalked Paul, found a home for the right uppercut, and landed a number of combinations. The evolution of Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) showed as he stayed composed, went back to the jab and threw combinations which busted up Silva's face and left him gushing blood in the last couple of rounds.
Paul nearly closed the show in the eighth and final round. After Silva rushed in and seemed to be the aggressor at the outset, they battled in the clinch when Paul threw a combination, stepped back and landed a short right to drop Silva. The Brazilian made it back to his feet but the fight was well in hand with Paul remaining undefeated.
—ing arena. So Nate Diaz, stop being a b—h and fight me. And Canelo, you too."