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Check out these photos highlighting Anderson Silva’s UFC career through the years.
Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag]’s UFC career through the years.
Anderson Silva is interested in taking on the winner of Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz.
[autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] is keeping a close eye on the upcoming boxing showdown between [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag].
The former UFC middleweight champion and MMA legend very much enjoyed the recent booking between Paul and Diaz. Not only does Silva think it’s a fun pairing, but he also sees the bout as competitive, enough to have him on the fence with his pick.
“I’m so excited. That’s a good show for us, a very good show for us,” Silva recently told Fight Hub TV. “I don’t know (who’s going to win). It’s very tough. Everybody thinks Jake is not training boxing, but Jake is training a lot. The people need to respect everything Jake is doing, because he’s very professional, and he’s very focused on his job. I respect him a lot, you know.”
He added, “That’s very hard to say who wins. Both are good fighters. Nate has more experience, he has good boxing and good cardio. I respect both. I’m waiting for the best show for us.”
Silva, whose last fight was a boxing match against Paul, said he could be interested in taking on the winner, whether it’s a rematch with Paul or a clash with the younger brother of former foe Nick Diaz.
“Maybe who wins the fight, I fight, too,” Silva said. “Maybe. I don’t know. Let’s go see.”
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Paul vs. Diaz.
Georges St-Pierre, Chris Weidman, Vitor Belfort, and Lyoto Machida pay tribute to Anderson Silva’s career.
MIAMI – Legendary former champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] will get his spot in the UFC Hall of Fame, an obviously deserving accolade to many, including fellow legends of the game.
The UFC announced last month that arguably its greatest champion will be inducted as part of the class of 2023. The induction ceremony will take place in July during International Fight Week.
And with the news of Silva’s induction, a lot of praise and appreciation has come the Brazilian’s way for the heights he reached in the sport as the most dominant UFC middleweight champion of all time and one of MMA’s biggest stars.
Last Thursday during a UFC Q&A in Miami ahead of UFC 287, MMA Junkie asked Georges St-Pierre, former opponents Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort, and Lyoto Machida their thoughts on Silva’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Below is what they had to say.
How much resistence will Leon Edwards and his team be willing to put up to get out of a Colby Covington fight? Some thoughts after UFC 286.
What mattered most at UFC 286 at The O2 in London? Here are a few post-fight musings …
The UFC record books have Anderson Silva’s name all over them – and now he’ll be immortalized in the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
One of the consensus greatest mixed martial artists of all time is set to be immortalized in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.
During the UFC 286 broadcast Saturday, the promotion announced former middleweight champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] will be among those inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, as part of the class of 2023.
Other announced members of the 2023 class include former UFC champions Jose Aldo and Jens Pulver. Silva will enter the “Pioneer Wing,” as his career started prior to the implementation of the Unified Rules of MMA.
Silva (34-11 MMA, 17-7 UFC) competed 25 times for the UFC from 2006 to 2020. Silva’s name is scattered throughout the UFC record books. His middleweight championship reign was the longest in UFC title history, a total of 2,457 days. He also holds records for longest win streak (16), most middleweight wins (11), most middleweight knockdowns (13), and most middleweight knockouts (10 – tie).
“Anderson Silva is one of the greatest athletes of all time,” UFC president Dana White said in a statement issued Saturday. “Anderson’s 16-fight winning streak in the UFC, 10 successful title defenses and almost seven years as middleweight champion were one of the most remarkable things we’ve ever seen in professional sports. He was an absolute artist inside the Octagon, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
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From his second UFC bout, during which he defeated Rich Franklin for the UFC title, Silva fought the top talent in the middleweight division. Other notable victories include Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Demian Maia, Dan Henderson, Derek Brunson, Stephan Bonnar, and Nate Marquardt.
In October 2020, Silva competed in what may have been his final MMA bout when he lost a main event bout to Uriah Hall. After the bout, Silva embarked on a professional boxing career. He picked up wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz before he was defeated by Jake Paul in October 2022.
Ahead of his return at UFC 285, Jon Jones has named his top five fighters of all time. Thoughts on his list?
Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the UFC, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has named his top five fighters of all time.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) returns from a more than three-year layoff when he takes on Ciryl Gane (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight title in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Former light heavyweight champ Jones is widely considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time and thinks becoming a UFC champ-champ would solidify him as No. 1 all time.
Joining him on his list are four other fighters. Scroll below to see Jones’ top five from his interview with RMC France.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
Report: Jake Paul and fellow social media star Tommy Fury have agreed to fight on Feb. 25.
Jake Paul and and fellow social media star Tommy Fury reportedly have agreed to fight on Feb. 25.
Ariel Helwani, a combat sports insider, tweeted: “Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is a done deal for Feb. 25, per sources.” He provided no further details.
Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, and the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury were set to meet twice in the past — on Dec. 19, 2021 and Aug. 6 of last year.
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is a done deal for Feb. 25, per sources.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 17, 2023
The first date fell through after Fury was injured and ill. They didn’t meet last year because Fury was unable to get a visa to enter the U.S. The fight was due to take place in New York.
Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) ended up fighting former MMA star Anderson Silva this past October, winning a wide decision in a 186.1-pound eight-round catch-weight bout.
Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) last took part in a sanctioned bout in April, when he outpointed Daniel Bocianski in a six-round bout. He met Rolly Lambert in an exhibition on the Floyd Mayweather-Deji card on Nov. 13.
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Report: Jake Paul and fellow social media star Tommy Fury have agreed to fight on Feb. 25.
Jake Paul and and fellow social media star Tommy Fury reportedly have agreed to fight on Feb. 25.
Ariel Helwani, a combat sports insider, tweeted: “Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is a done deal for Feb. 25, per sources.” He provided no further details.
Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, and the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury were set to meet twice in the past — on Dec. 19, 2021 and Aug. 6 of last year.
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is a done deal for Feb. 25, per sources.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 17, 2023
The first date fell through after Fury was injured and ill. They didn’t meet last year because Fury was unable to get a visa to enter the U.S. The fight was due to take place in New York.
Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) ended up fighting former MMA star Anderson Silva this past October, winning a wide decision in a 186.1-pound eight-round catch-weight bout.
Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) last took part in a sanctioned bout in April, when he outpointed Daniel Bocianski in a six-round bout. He met Rolly Lambert in an exhibition on the Floyd Mayweather-Deji card on Nov. 13.
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Paddy Pimblett respects what Jake Paul has done in the ring but isn’t sold on his recent win over Anderson Silva.
Rising UFC star [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] respects what [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] has done but isn’t sold on his recent win over [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag].
Paul picked up his biggest win to date in October when he defeated former UFC middleweight champion Silva at Desert Diamond Arena in an eight-round boxing match. Not only did Paul beat Silva, he managed to knock him down in the final round.
Pimblett thinks Paul’s knockout over Tyron Woodley was legit but isn’t convinced that the YouTube star actually managed to drop Silva.
“Jake Paul is actually not that bad now, even though I think his fights are fixed,” Pimblett said on Pub Talk.
He continued, “I don’t think the Tyron Woodley knockout was fixed, because when you get knocked out like that and you land face first, if you’re not unconscious you’re going (puts arms out). You can’t help it. It’s a human reaction. But I’ve seen an angle of a punch where he hit Anderson Silva the other day when he sat down, and he didn’t even hit him.”
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Paul caught wind of Pimblett’s words and took exception to the notion of Silva taking a dive. In response, he issued a challenge on Twitter.
Dear Paddy Pimblett, you claim my fights are rigged? Stop calling the GOAT Anderson Silva a criminal and come spar me.
You win, I give you $1 million. I win, you join the UFA. pic.twitter.com/jOFqcPdjnz
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 29, 2022
Pimblett did credit Paul for his work ethic, which has led him to a 6-0 record and finishes over former MMA champs Ben Askren and Woodley.
“I give Jake Paul his due now. He’s training that much, he probably could beat some professional boxers,” Pimblett said. “He’s got unlimited funds, and he hasn’t got to do anything else. He hasn’t got to go and do a job. All he’s got to do is box, and he gets the best coaches in, he gets the best nutritionists in, and stuff like that.”
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Joe Rogan has been known to listen to a conspiracy theory or two but isn’t buying it with regard to Jake Paul’s win over Anderson Silva.
[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] has been known to listen to a conspiracy theory or two during his day, but when it comes to anything involving the boxing match between [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag], the longtime UFC commentator isn’t buying it.
In the aftermath of Paul’s unanimous decision win over former UFC middleweight champion Silva this past Saturday, the underbelly of the internet has attempted to claim the fight wasn’t legit. Specifically, there’s been a dissecting of Paul’s final-round knockdown of Silva that sealed the result on the scorecards.
Rogan, who’s watched countless combat sports fights, said he saw nothing fishy about Paul vs. Silva.
“Some people are trying to say that fight was fixed because of the knockdown,” Rogan said on a recent edition of his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I just want to explain to people this is what happened. … Anderson moved forward to Jake Paul, and Jake Paul hit him with sort of a stepping jab and caught him right on the chin. And when he caught him on the chin, Anderson Silva was falling backwards and then he leans away from the right hand, and he goes down. He was down from the punch, but it looks like the right hand doesn’t connect, but the left hand is what’s f*cking him up.
“That dude hits f*cking hard, and for anybody to say he doesn’t hit hard because he’s a YouTube star — if this guy was not a f*cking YouTube star and he was some dude who went out there and flatlined Tyron Woodley with one punch and just knocked down Anderson Silva in the f*cking eighth round … come on, son. That is legit as f*ck. Anybody that says that’s not legitimate is crazy. He cracked him.”
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While many people have tried to discredit Paul and his achievement, Rogan said he’s not one to hate on what the YouTuber-turned-boxer is attempting to do.
“Dude, he can fight,” Rogan said. “Is he the best in the world? No. But is he getting better with every fight? Yes. Is he a 25-year-old guy who’s a legit athlete? Yes. If this is what he wants to do, this guy is making a f*cking insane amount of money, and he f*cking loves it. He’s beating people that everybody says he shouldn’t be in the f*cking ring with.”
For complete coverage of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event page for Paul vs. Silva.
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