Paul declared that he intends to box former UFC champion Anderson Silva, on October 29. The preparation for the bout are going as planned with Silva reuniting with longtime foe Chael Sonnen and mending fences.
Silva is reportedly also in discussion to face Fedor Emelianenko in his retirment bout from MMA – possibly in Japan.
But he’s also already booked a martial arts competition right after his boxing date with Youtuber turned pro boxer.
“after this…Â I will go to Dubai to start training jiu-jitsu with my coach because I am entering a tournament and I am excited to put my heart into training and continue to test myself. Right now I am in control of my professional life inside combat sports and I can do anything. Nobody can control me and say ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘you are too old for that’ and of course this is making me more happy.”
As with many other aces, Silva has had an exclusive UFC contract. UFC used to forbid all competitons outside of the cage to it’s athletes. This is all starting to change with the push grappling is getting on UFC’s streaming service.
UFC even reportedly tried to get Khabib Nurmagomedov to come in for a big money grappling match – but was unsuccessful. Regardless Silva has long been sponsored by Spyder Korea – so he’ll likely be making his debut there.
While he didn’t elaborate on the specifics he did say this:
“For many years I have had a contract with a big company but now I am able to do much more,” Silva told The MMA Hour when discussing plans beyond his meeting with Paul. “This was in the past but now it is about the future and my legacy and I will continue doing my best in boxing and in different sports too.