Getty Jake Paul & Anderson Silva
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva said he was recently knocked out twice in sparring, leading to many questioning whether or not his boxing match with Jake Paul will happen on Saturday.
“The Spider” and Paul are scheduled to compete in a professional match on October 29 in Glendale, Arizona at the Gila River Arena via Showtime PPV.
Well, during a recent interview with MMA Weekly, Silva said he suffered two KO’s on his last day of sparring for the contest.
“I’m training hard for win — I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me,” Silva said (h/t MMA Fighting). “And the last sparring with [my sparring partner], he is knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’ And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
Any fighter dealing with multiple knockouts ahead of a fight is cause for concern. But at 47 years old, Silva’s comments have raised the eyebrows of many in the combat sports world.
MMA Fighting reached out to Silva’s coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, for comment, and he denied that The Spider was knocked out.
“What I can say is that didn’t happen,” Dorea said via the outlet. “Thank God we follow all the steps in training and Anderson did excellent sparring [sessions]. He’s 100 percent for the fight.”
Update: October 26 – 1:30 p.m. ET
In a statement shared to Heavy via Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, Silva said he “misspoke” regarding getting knocked out and that although MMA Weekly had just published the interview, it was conducted “in early September.”
“After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things,” the statement reads. “One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring. I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring.
“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.
“More importantly, my training camp has been great. I am fit and ready to fight and the only knockout people should be worried about is the one I’m about to deliver to Jake Paul on Saturday night.”
Further, MMA Fighting spoke with MMA Weekly’s editor, who also confirmed the interview was shot after a press conference featuring Paul and Silva on September 13.
To Compete, Silva Must Submit a Physical Exam Form, Which Includes Info About Recent Knockouts – Will Undergo Further Testing as Well
If a combatant is 37 or older, they must jump through several more hoops than a younger fighter should they want to compete in the state of Arizona. And among the tests and forms, these athletes must reveal when they suffered “their most recent knockout,” among other information, MMA Fighting reported.
And since the state is in charge of issuing a boxing license, they could deny The Spider’s application, which would render him unable to compete on Saturday.
“In Arizona, fighters over the age of 36 are required to receive approval from the commission in order to be licensed, submitting a stress test performed by a doctor, a clearance letter and a electrocardiogram (ECG) to demonstrate cardiovascular health,” the outlet wrote.
“In general, fighters are also required to submit to concussion baseline testing. On the physical exam form all fighters are required to submit, fighters are asked the date of their most recent knockout, the longest duration of unconsciousness, and whether they’ve been knocked out in any other sport ‘or in any other way.'”
Silva Has Gone 2-0 as a Professional Boxer Since Departing the UFC
The Spider left the UFC in 2020 after losing his third fight in a row. However, the former 185-pound king made his successful transition to professional boxing in 2021.
In June of last year, The Spider battled former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and he picked up a split-decision victory. Then in September, he knocked out ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in the first round.
He also boxed Bruna Machado in an eight-round exhibition match, however no decision was announced.