Daniel Cormier is not on board with Jake Paul’s latest attempt to find an opponent.
The YouTube star and sometimes boxer Paul has stirred up a back-and-forth over social media with retired former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Cormier is confused why the 25-year-old would call out Bisping, who hasn’t fought since retiring from MMA in 2017.
“When Mike says, you want to call out a 43-year-old with no knees, who can’t see, then send the contract, what is this?” Cormier questioned in a video posted to his YouTube channel. “Like, what is the point? Some will say, ‘It’s simple, D.C., he wants easy fights.’ Well, Michael Bisping, even with one eye, is not an easy fight. Don’t think for a second that Jake Paul is gonna go run through Michael Bisping in the way that he did Tyron Woodley.
“Tyron Woodley was a wrestler. Ben Askren was a wrestler. Michael Bisping is a boxer and a fighter. So, with all the injuries that he’s had, Bisping will still go out there and fight as hard as anyone you’ve ever seen. … It would be a tougher fight for Jake Paul, but what’s the desired result? Does it get you closer to being legitimized?”
Paul has ramped up the competition each time he’s stepped inside the boxing ring. He started off fighting a fellow YouTuber, then a former NBA player, to facing two former UFC fighters, one of whom was a champion. Cormier believes that looking for a fight against Bisping does not meet the trajectory of his young career.
If Paul wants to continue to call out older former UFC champions whose best days are behind them, Cormier suggested another name for Paul to turn his attention to, someone the former double-champion shared the cage with at UFC 200.
“You want an older guy to fight?” Cormier asked. “Hey, there’s a former UFC champion that is doing exactly what you are doing. His name is Anderson Silva. That’s who you should be fighting Jake. That’s who you should be calling out. Because guess what, he still fits the mold. He’s a former UFC champ. Amateur boxer, because he’s only fought, I don’t know, only five boxing fights. He’s just like you, he’s your size, and he’s up there in age.”
Silva, 47, laced up the boxing gloves after a three-fight skid led to his exit from the UFC. Since then, Silva has faced Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz, defeating both opponents behind his precision striking. Silva also has an upcoming boxing match set for May in Dubai.
“That fight actually gives us some idea of what this thing is that you’re trying to do or portray,” Cormier said.