Jake Paul dropped Anderson Silva in the final round to ensure victory over the UFC legend.
Paul was ahead on all three scorecards going into the eighth session before a right hand dumped Silva on the canvas. The Brazilian recovered to see out the remainder of the bout before slipping to his second boxing defeat.
“Man it’s a surreal moment but hard work pays off," Paul said. "I want to say thank you to Anderson, he inspired me to be great. Without him, we wouldn’t have a fight this year. I have nothing but respect for him. I started boxing two and a half years ago and I’ve just beaten one of the best strikers ever."
Paul, 25, was looking for his sixth professional win against 47-year-old UFC icon Silva having previously beaten fellow content creator AnEsonGib, NBA star Nate Robinson and former MMA champions Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.
Since parting ways with the UFC two years ago after his legendary run in the promotion, Silva had won fights against former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and fellow MMA veteran Tito Ortiz. And it was he received the biggest cheer from the Phoenix crowd as the rivals made their way to the ring.
But there was little output from Silva in the opening round as Paul opted to attack the elder man's body, but it was the Brazilian who landed the best punch of the round with a hard left hook. Silva was dancing around the ring and taunting Paul by urging him to come forward, with the YouTuber struggling to land punches on his back foot.
Paul started to up his output in the fourth round, finding success off his jab thanks to the low guard of Silva. The Brazilian's awkward head movement was causing problems for Paul and he landed a good flurry come the midway point of the fight. Paul was getting caught by Silva's uppercut as they broke from the clinch and it was neck and neck heading into the sixth round.
The fans began to grow restless amid the lack of output from both men, but Paul silenced their boos with a good flurry before Silva fired back with one of his own. The UFC legend continued to have his best moments when Paul was backed up against the ropes, drowning him with pressure and to set up combinations.
Both men upped their output in the final round and Paul scored the only knockdown of the fight by dropping Silva with a big right hand. The Brazilian recovered well and returned to his feet to walk Paul down, but he was eating jabs in the process. Silva refused to wilt and heard the final bell, but it wasn't enough as the judges scored the contest 77-74, 78-73, 78-73 in Paul's favour.
On the undercard, 18-year-old prospect Ashton Sylve - the first fighter to be signed by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions - remained unbeaten by knocking out Braulio Rodriguez in just 60 seconds. Sylve, who walked to the ring in a Minions outfit, left Rodriguez facedown on the canvas by flooring him with a check hook. Rodriguez got back to his feet but stumbled into the ropes and the fight was waved off as Sylve picked up his eighth win, keeping his 100 per cent knockout rate intact.
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Earlier on the card, former NFL star Le’Veon Bell put up a valid effort against Uriah Hall but lost a unanimous decision to the UFC veteran. ‘Doctor Mike’ Varshavski bit off more than he could chew against Nate Diaz’s teammate Chris Avila, being outclassed over four rounds to suffer defeat in his professional debut.
Earlier on in Phoenix, there were one-sided decision wins for Arizona natives Adrian Rodriguez and Danny Barrios Flores whilst Silva’s training partner Eliezer Silva knocked out Anthony Hannah in the opening fight of the evening.
