Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva

Like many of his past MMA fights, Silva's output was way too low and he just waited for long stretches, giving up important rounds even when he had clear ...

Even with his toughness and historically good chin, I’m not sure if a past-prime Diaz can still push a high pace against the larger, younger opponent. Maybe it was age and his body not being able to keep that pace up, but Silva lacked urgency and only tried to pressure forward in spurts. Unfortunately, he didn’t do that enough, and sat in the middle of the ring and unnecessarily allowed Paul to play his game.

Check out who the experts are taking in the latest showdown on Showtime PPV from Arizona.

The biggest issue for Paul may prove to be that the more he looks to take the fight to Silva, the more he might find himself entangled in the web of the "Spider," who excels at lulling his prey into a false sense of security before countering spectacularly. But against Paul, I think he will trap himself along the ropes and Paul has the discipline to work to the body instead of headhunting. in Mexico -- that he's a legitimate threat to hit Paul with the kind of fight-altering counter shots he doesn't see coming. It's possible Silva is too slick for Paul, but I think Silva will fall into his tendency to get cute with his defense, which can work and frustrate opponents. Brian Campbell: Provided Silva doesn't begin to feel his age overnight in ways he has yet to show us during this twilight of one of the most decorated careers in combat sports history, this is his fight to win in just about every category. Paul also has one of those "you have it or you don't" qualities in his punching power. You can see it in his fights and legitimate boxers who have worked with him have said it as well. But there are a lot of little things that start to stand out when you really look at the fight. Silva is the first opponent Paul has faced who will enter the ring with a professional boxing record -- not counting Paul's rematch with Tyron Woodley. Now set for a showdown with UFC legend Anderson Silva on Saturday night, Paul faces what should be the stiffest test of his young career ( Paul is coming off a brutal knockout of Woodley in their rematch. Many thought Paul's handlers would look to keep him away from Silva, a bigger, slicker and more prolific striker than anyone Paul has faced to date.

How should the combat sports world digest Jake Paul's win over Anderson Silva? We share some post-fight thoughts.

This isn’t the Silva of his prime, though, and it was fairly obvious to me that he knew he had to balance everything if he wanted to make it to the final bell in one piece. Paul is still a novice in boxing, and an argument can be made he’s taking a tougher path than others in the boxing space. If Paul wants his career to be anything more than fights against aging MMA stars who cross over to boxing, though, this can’t go on forever. Of course, Silva was capable of a knockout from beginning to end due to his precision, but his power wasn’t enough to cast fear within Paul, which allowed him to fight a bit more freely. But just like the ugly stretch of losses to close his UFC career, this doesn’t tarnish what Silva has accomplished overall. “The Spider” was as humble as it gets in defeat, even though he couldn’t deliver for the portion of viewers who wanted him to derail Paul. If you’re one of those people, it’s best you stop reading now, because you’re not going to like what’s coming. If you want to claim that Silva agreeing to participate in this boxing match with Paul, then going on to lose, tarnishes his legacy in combat sports – I’m not going to make a big argument otherwise. He came to the post-fight press conference and outright It’s still a bit tough to know how to digest this whole thing from Silva’s side. It’s fine if you want to feel that way, but going to the next step of claiming shadiness around the outcome is something different. There’s no choice but to address this element off the top.

Flying beverages, backstage scuffles, a stockton slap – and seemingly an ejection. Nate Diaz had quite the time at Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva, it appears.

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