Dana White is telling self-proclaimed reformed bully Jake Paul something that bullies around the world have always heard: Pick on someone your own size.
YouTuber turned professional boxer Jake Paul is off to a 4-0 start and has raked in piles of cash along the way. However, in spite of getting off to a strong start based on all the available numbers, there is one number differential that hasn’t been considered a good look for him by some onlookers: the natural weight gap between him and his opponents.
In addition to this criticism, there has also been a consistent call for Paul to face better competition. UFC President Dana White has already told Paul to start fighting professional boxers, and he has recently expressed doubt that Paul would even agree to fight Anderson Silva in light of Silva’s recent boxing success.
This prompted Paul to issue a challenge to Dana White: allow him to fight Jorge Masvidal. If Paul wins, he can continue fighting UFC fighters any time. If Paul loses, he would never bother White about this subject again. In his response to Paul’s challenge, White issued a challenge in return. And it’s the one Paul may have heard before during his bullying days.
“Masvidal’s 170 pounds. He likes 170-pounders. Go fight somebody your own size,” White said. “Anderson Silva’s not under contract, he’s 46 years old – that’s the age group you love to fight – and he’s your size and he’s actually winning fights. If you look at Jake Paul’s history, Jake Paul either fights basketball players who have never fought or he wants to fight washed-up older guys who haven’t won fights in years. Anderson Silva has actually been boxing, he’s won some fights, he’s 46 years old, and he’s in your weight class. There you go. That’s a no-brainer. Fight Anderson Silva…
“Fans would actually probably like to see that fight. It’s actually a viable fight that would actually sell some pay-per-views. Cause no matter what they tell ya, he ain’t f*cking selling pay-per-views. The brother did. Logan, when he fought Floyd Mayweather, they sold some PPVs. Triller ain’t selling jack sh*t. Those guys couldn’t f*cking give away pay-per-views. If Jake Paul goes out and actually fights Anderson Silva, it’s a viable fight.”
Dana White isn’t the only one who has expressed interest in seeing a Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva fight, with Silva himself being among them. As for Jake Paul, he has opened up about the possibility of the fight coming together but is currently leaning against it. The Cleveland native views the fight as being mostly a lose-lose situation for him due mostly to Silva’s age.
Do you think Anderson Silva is the opponent that makes the most sense for Jake Paul next?