"I would love to see that" - Chris Weidman is curious why Jake Paul isn't calling out Anderson Silva
Chris Weidman recently revealed that he would be interested in watching Jake Paul box Anderson Silva. After being released from his UFC contract in November 2020, 'The Spider' has tried his hand at professional boxing. He fought twice in 2021, defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz.
A number of pundits - including Michael Bisping - have touted Silva as an ideal opponent for the YouTube star.
During a recent episode of the Won't Back Down podcast, Chris Weidman said he wanted to see Jake Paul call out Anderson Silva. He stated that Silva is a more plausible opponent for Paul than any of the fighters under contract to the UFC. Weidman said:
"I would love to see him fight Anderson Silva. He's calling out all these fighters with UFC contracts. I don't think he's really... none of those are really going to happen at this point. The UFC would have to get behind it almost like a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather type match."
Weidman continued:
"Unless you're drawing in $ 500 million like the Mayweather and McGregor fights... the UFC's not doing it... They're wasting our time talking about Diaz, Masvidal and Usman."
Check out this clip of Chris Weidman discussing Jake Paul's next opponent below:
Anderson Silva is open to fighting Jake Paul and Logan Paul
Anderson Silva has praised the Paul brothers for introducing a new audience to combat sports in the past. In an interview with TMZ Sports, 'The Spider' revealed that he was open to fighting either of the Paul brothers in the future. Silva said:
“Everything is possible. Jake Paul and Logan are doing a lot of good work in this new entertaining show. We'll see. Everything is possible. I respect both. [Jake] is doing good, working hard. So, we'll see, maybe this is possible too."
Silva added:
"My goal is my last fight is 49 [years old]. 49, I'm done. Probably, I'm done. That is my goal. Fight three more years and done. 49. That's the number. Maybe I can fight more but, right now, my goal is when I turn 49, I stop fighting."
Jake Paul has set his sights on facing contracted UFC fighters such as Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. However, he hasn't expressed an interest in taking on Anderson Silva. Even though it's a risky proposition, a win over the former middleweight champion would be a feather in Paul's cap.
Check out Anderson Silva's conversation with TMZ: