Chuck Liddell has predicted fellow UFC legend Anderson Silva will knock out Jake Paul in their upcoming fight.
Paul, 25, looks to improve his unbeaten boxing record to six fights when he challenges 47-year-old Silva in arguably his toughest challenge to date next month. Silva and Liddell were both on top of the UFC in the 2000s, as the Brazilian held the middleweight title for many years whilst Liddell reigned as the light-heavyweight champion.
Liddell was one of the UFC's hardest punchers of all time, but his career went on too long as he was knocked out in his final three fights. 'The Iceman' has praised YouTube star, Paul, for ditching his internet fame and challenging himself in the ring, but thinks that the skills of Silva will be too big of a step up for him.
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“I think it’s a dangerous fight for (Jake),” Liddell told Fight Hub TV. “I mean, he’s got nothing to lose, he’s fighting Anderson Silva. Anderson is still powerful, he’s still sharp, and he’s a striker. Jake had some good luck with guys that were wrestlers that tried to strike. I think he [Anderson] wins, I think he knocks him out. I’m interested to see it. Good luck to Jake, the kid is fighting. He goes out there and really fights, you have to respect that.”
"One thing is to have ok striking for MMA, but that’s because you have to worry about them taking you down. When you don’t have to worry about getting taken down, then it’s hard to land those big bombs. Anderson, he’s a striker and has been concentrating on boxing. He looked great in his last couple of fights.”
Silva, who was linked to a fight against Paul's brother Logan last year, has surprised fans since crossing over to boxing following his UFC exit two years ago. After beating a former world champion in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, the Brazilian knocked out fellow UFC veteran Tito Ortiz and fought Bruno Machado in an un-scored exhibition fight. Despite the 22-year age gap between them, Paul thinks Silva is his toughest challenge to date.
"I think he's definitely the most skilled boxer I'm going up against yet and he just beat a former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, schooled him for eight rounds," he told ESPN. "If I was to fight him, people would be like 'oh finally he's fighting a former world champion pro boxer' but guess what? Anderson beat the s*** out of the dude. He has so much experience, he's been on the big stage so many times, so it's not going to affect him. What's great about this fight is that whoever has the most skill will win."
