The Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva event on October 29 from the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona was an exciting night of boxing action with a fun undercard.
The event was packed and you had several good match ups, including one that featured former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell and former UFC fighter Uriah Hall making their pro boxing debut.
Bell predicted a knockout of Hall and he showed his boxing skill in the ring, he was very elusive similar style to Paulie Malignaggi with the jabs to the body and movement. Hall came in with non stop pressure and the judges favored the aggression of Hall over the slick boxing skill of Bell and awarded the MMA fighter turned boxer the win on the scorecards.
YouTube star Mikhail “Dr. Mike” Varshavski made his pro debut against experienced MMA veteran Chris Avila. Dr. Mike came into the ring confident all fight week he was anxious to get ready to face a much more experienced fighter in Avila. Even though Avila was the much smaller man coming up in weight, he was able to dominate Dr. Mike and hurt him several times.
Credit to Dr. Mike for having the heart and determination to not quit in the fight, his conditioning could have been better which is what ultimately cost him the fight as he was tired early and Avila was picking up steam, throwing combos and had stamina to go several more rounds. Avila would win a decision victory.
The Main Event lived up to the hype, it was an all out war with Jake Paul and Anderson Silva mixing it up for 8 hard rounds.
Paul was more than half Silva’s age and had trouble with the 47-year-old former UFC middleweight champion. Silva didn’t throw as many shots early and gave away rounds to the YouTube star, but would pick up the pace mid fight.
The back and forth action between the two made the fight close in the eyes of most viewers. It wasn’t until the 8th and final round where the fight was secured for Paul when Silva came out aggressive and decided to trade blows toe to toe with Paul and got dropped by Paul’s signature right hand power shot. The fight went the distance and the three judges scored it unanimously 77-74, 78-73, 78-73 in favor of Jake Paul.
Fight Card
Cruiserweight – Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva
Lightweight – Ashton Sylve vs. Braulio Rodriguez
Bantamweight – Alexandro Santiago vs. Antonio Nieves
Cruiserweight – Le’Veon Bell vs. Uriah Hall
Cruiserweight – Chris Avila vs. Mikhail “Dr. Mike” Varshavski
Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva Showtime PPV Highlights
Video upload by SHOWTIME Sports
