UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz has cast his prediction for the upcoming boxing bout between Jake Paul and MMA legend Anderson Silva.
The pair are set to share the ring on October 29 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Like Silva, Ortiz is an MMA veteran and former UFC champion. During the 47-year-old’s title run in the organization in the early 2000’s, Anderson Silva had just signed for the UFC and would go on to become the middleweight division’s most dominant star.
Having not competed in MMA since 2019, fans were left shocked when it was announced that ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ was set to face UFC legend Silva in a professional boxing bout in September 2021. Ortiz went on to lose the fight via KO in the first-round.
Having now shared the squared circle with ‘The Spider’, Tito Ortiz made his prediction for the Brazilian’s upcoming bout with Paul while speaking to Paddy Pimblett on the Chattin Pony podcast. The 47-year-old said:
“I know he’s [Anderson Silva] coming up on a fight against Jake Paul. I don’t think Jake Paul’s going to make it out of three rounds and that’s my opinion. I know it’s going to be a great fight because I know Paul puts in a lot of work.”
Ortiz added:
“Jake Paul thinks him being 47 years old is going to make a difference? He’s gonna be in for a rude awakening. Silva takes this sport very seriously.”
Catch the full podcast episode here:
Chael Sonnen believes Jake Paul could still fight Nate Diaz even if he loses to Anderson Silva
Former UFC fighter Nate Diaz is arguably the hottest free agent in the MMA world right now. The Stockton fighter recently made his last UFC appearance, bowing out of the organization with a victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.
It’s been widely reported that Diaz was seeking to leave the UFC in order to book bigger fights and earn more money. With that said, Jake Paul appeared to be a likely future opponent for the 37-year-old.
Chael Sonnen recently discussed the likelihood of ‘The Problem Child’ and Diaz facing off in the ring in a YouTube video. He ultimately believes that it’s the fight to make, even if Paul loses to veteran Anderson Silva:
“If [Nate Diaz] comes out and says that he wants to fight the loser ahead of time, it’s interesting but it works. This is Chael’s theory, as a master of human psychology. Then if Anderson loses, which is not the fight you’re trying to make, you say, ‘Obviously I was kidding, I don’t want to fight the loser. ‘Course I’m gonna fight Jake.’ If Jake gets beat then you say you want to deal with that guy.”
Catch Chael Sonnen’s thoughts here: