Two years after hanging up his gloves in MMA, Anderson Silva is set to box against YouTube sensation Jake Paul.
UFC star Anderson Silva has said that he once competed in four bouts in one day for a mere $200 in an MMA tournament.
Silva is recognized as one of the Greatest of all time (GOAT) that have ever competed in the UFC. Now that he has successfully transitioned to boxing, he will box YouTube sensation Jake Paul on October 29 in Phoenix.
According to Paul, Silva will get a higher salary for the bout than he did throughout his UFC tenure. But the Brazilian denied these claims and provided a relevant story from a time when he competed in an MMA competition and demonstrated his prowess.
Silva said at the Full Send podcast,
“It is crazy because my first professional fight I drove for a number of hours to a city and I fought four times in the same day.”
“I fought four times in the same day for just $200. It was a fight then a period of waiting then another fight, then you wait again. It was a tournament.”
“It was insane and that was my first and when I finished I had won. And I spoke to my first jiu-jitsu coach and he just said to me and looked at me ‘you looked good you were winning the fights.’ It was weird at the time because I fought kickboxing and Muay-Thai and I trained in Taekwondo but this was my first contact with MMA.”
“It is funny at the time because I was a blue belt but I picked it up fast and I won the fight. And I think that is the start and I began fighting in Brazil a lot and Japan and in Korea. I fought in a lot of different countries and it started from then.”
After a lengthy and successful career came to an end in a loss to Uriah Hall, Silva decided to leave the UFC in 2020. The Brazilian’s actual earnings during his UFC career are still unknown since many of his payouts were based on pay-per-view revenue percentages.
The former UFC middleweight champion refuted Paul’s assertions that this bout is his largest paycheck and claimed that he is fighting for more than just money.
He said, “No, it’s not true. I don’t like to talk about money because I’m not here for money. Thanks to God I have money to take care of my family.”
“I’m not a rich guy but I try to live a good life and don’t spend money on things that aren’t important. When I wake up everyday to train with my kids and spar with these younger guys, I try to continue respecting the sport that built my life and pass it on to new generations.”