Anderson Silva has been told that "inactivity" cost him the chance of victory in his recent loss to Jake Paul.
MMA legend Silva had not fought in the UFC since October 2020, when he lost to Uriah Hall, but made the switch to the boxing ring with his first win coming against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He later fought Tito Ortiz that year before picking up another win fighting in an exhibition with Bruno Machado last May - five months prior to his recent fight with Paul.
Silva was dropped in the final round of his contest with the YouTuber-turned-boxer in Phoenix at the weekend, which contributed to his unanimous decision defeat. And UFC legend Daniel Cormier has claimed that Silva looked the better fighter when he was able to show more energy but was unable to sustain the pace for a longer duration.
“The kid [Jake Paul] is improving,” stated Cormier on the DC & RC podcast when discussing the fight between the pair. “The one that beat [Tyron] Woodley would’ve lost to that Anderson Silva Saturday night. It was a fun fight, I paid the sixty bucks, I bought it, I paid for the pay-per-view. I thought that Jake Paul showed a lot of heart. I thought Anderson Silva fought valiantly. You know what sucked?
"I felt like Anderson did what he is known to do, and it’s a bit of his M.O. If he was more active, he would have won, but he just wasn’t. There were a lot spots in the fight where lack of activity cost him. He gave away some rounds to Jake Paul early, because he just didn’t do enough. When he put his foot on the gas, you saw that he was the better fighter, Anderson Silva [was]. But he just did not put the gas enough to win the fight, and then he got dropped in the last round.”
Silva was judged to be behind on all of the scorecards from the judges on the night, with the decision going unanimously in the favour of Paul despite the protests of some fans. The Brazilian is 47 years old but proved to be a tough test for Paul, who has fought former UFC stars Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley in previous outings.
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Paul has claimed he was not surprised by his opponent's mettle, suggesting that he found it extremely difficult to break down the resolve of the former champion. "Just being in the ring with him seeing his heart, courage and bravery," Paul said of Silva. "That is the champion I looked up too and I had to go in there and match his heart that I saw through the TV screen.
"We were throwing big shots all night. It was obviously just the timing and I was just surprised by his toughness as I was dropping sparring partners with them shots in camp. He is built different, the guy has fought through broken bones."
