Boxing badboy Jake Paul has called on UFC president Dana White to accept a $5 million bet
The clash is set for October. © Harry How / Getty Images
YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul has offered UFC president Dana White a $5 million wager that he will knock out mixed martial arts icon Anderson Silva in their October 29 boxing match.
Paul has finally settled on an opponent for what will be his sixth outing in the boxing ring after seeing fights with both Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr fall apart for a variety of reasons in recent weeks.
The bout versus Silva, which will take place in Phoenix, Arizona at a catchweight of 187lbs, is thought by many to be Paul’s toughest test of his young combat sports career as he takes on a fighter generally regarded as one of the most dominant UFC champions in history.
Silva, 47, has also experienced success in the boxing ring – most notably in his June 2021 decision win against former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
But so confident is the brash Paul that he says he is more than happy to put his money where his mouth is, so long as Dana White does the same.
"Stop being a b**** and make a bet against me."@JakePaul challenges Dana White to a $5 million wager in his fight against Anderson Silva 😳 #PaulSilvapic.twitter.com/xLbCpW1yrI
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 12, 2022
“No one thought I’d take this fight – even Dana White,” Paul said at a Monday press conference to promote the upcoming fight.
“He did not think I would take this fight. And Dana, I know you’re watching, bro. You still owe me a million dollars when you bet against me on Ben Askren.
“I want you to come out of hiding and stop being a b*tch, and make a bet against me and Anderson and actually pay up this time because you didn’t think I’d take this fight. So let’s make a bet. Let’s put one mil, two mil, five mil on it. But I bet you won’t Dana, because you’re a b*tch.”
Paul and White have been strange bedfellows for much of the past few months, with the boxing star being a vocal critic of what he bemoans as an unfair pay structure within the UFC – while White has repeatedly taken thinly-veiled shots at Paul and his boxing acumen, and had previously said that Paul would never accept a fight with Anderson Silva.
As Paul noted, White had also said publicly that he would bet $1 million on Ben Askren defeating Paul in their boxing match last year – though White later backtracked on the idea.
Paul defeated Askren by first-round knockout.
And while the MMA media has often brought up the issue, White offered a fierce rebuttal in an August press conference.
“Stop asking me about Jake Paul, you guys,” White stated. “I don’t give a sh*t what Jake Paul does. I know you love this sh*t, but c’mon, this guy has nothing to do with my business. He doesn’t fight for me, he’s not even in the same f*cking sport as me. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I don’t care.”
But despite the antipathy which clearly exists between the two, there is one element to which they agree: the danger that a veteran Anderson Silva can pose in the ring.
“This is it. This is a make-or-break moment,” Paul said of his forthcoming opponent.
“I know that I have someone who just beat a former world champion boxer in front of me. I don’t take him lightly at all. He’s the GOAT of striking, he’s the GOAT of MMA.”
