Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was cut by UFC president Dana White near the end of last year, but the 46-year-old MMA legend rebounded nicely by defeating former boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a boxing match on June 19 in Mexico. Now, according to a leaked message posted by news site Dextero, Silva has his next boxing match lined up already, and it’s against social media superstar Logan Paul.
You can see that post below.
According to the leaked message revealed by Bellator star Dillon Danis on Instagram and reposted by Dextero, Silva vs. Paul is set for September 19 in Dubai.
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Danis Revealed News While Berating Messenger
Viktor Doria is a Brazilan jiu-jitsu black belt, and he claims to have insider knowledge about the proposed Silva vs. Paul megafight.
He sent a message to Danis via Instagram asking for the MMA star to participate in a grappling match against him on the same card.
He posted, “There will be a huge event in Dubai on September 19. Main event is Anderson Silva vs. Logan Paul boxing match…”.
Danis reposted the message. He said about Doria, “So funny they talk s*** but follow me and dm me…”.
But with that post came the leak of the Silva vs. Paul rumor.
While it’s not official news at this point, Danis also revealed the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight before it was announced.
So the fighter might be doing the same here with Silva vs. Paul.
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Both Silva and Paul Impressed Fans in Last Fights
Silva is 2-1 as a pro boxing after defeating Chavez Jr. by split decision in an eight-round fight that most people seemed to think probably should have been unanimous.
Silva turned back the clock against Chavez Jr. He entered the fight with way less experience, but the savvy striking style he used in MMA translated nicely to the boxing world.
Paul is 0-1 as a pro boxer, but the 26-year-old did much better than most pundits expected him to do in his eight-round exhibition bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
No winner of Mayweather vs. Paul was announced as part of the special rules for the fight, but most boxing pundits saw things go Mayweather’s way.
According to CompuBox, Mayweather landed 43 out of 107 total punches (40.2%), while Paul landed just 28 of 217 thrown (12.9%).
Paul seemed to tire as the bout carried into the later rounds, but he made it to the end of the fight.
So Paul did better than many thought he would by going the full distance in the fight, and he expressed afterward that he would like to continue his boxing career.
Now, it appears former UFC champion Silva might be next on the list.
While Silva vs. Paul Might Make Sense
Paul makes sense for Silva because he’s a much more experienced fighter than the YouTuber, and Silva would make a ton of money for stepping inside the ring with him. Paul is one of the most popular social media celebrities in the world, and he has millions of followers and fans on social media.
Silva makes sense for Paul because he’s an aging all-time great. He’s naturally bigger than Mayweather, but he’s not as clean a boxer. He’s also a little older than Mayweather, so Paul would have a decent step up in competition that might not be too big a leap.
Mayweather is 44 years old, and Silva is 46. “Spider” competed mostly in the UFC’s 185-pound division during his stunning run with the company, and he also competed in the 205-pound ranks.
For the Chavez Jr. boxing match, Silva had to cut down to 175.
Paul weighed 189.5 pounds for his boxing match against Mayweather.
Meanwhile, Mayweather tallied his highest weight ever at 155 pounds, so Paul would be facing a much larger fighter in Silva should the rumor posted by Danis prove to be true.
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Leaked Message Reveals Next Fight for Anderson Silva