Anderson Silva. Alex Gould/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Anderson Silva, Jake Paul teaming up to create MMA fighters association

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 6/22/23

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is a man of his word.

Holding up his end of a bet made prior to his October 2022 boxing match with Jake Paul in which he lost via unanimous decision, Silva is working with the YouTuber-turned-pro boxer to create an association for MMA fighters.

“It’s moving, it’s all in motion,” Silva said on a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s “Trocação Franca” podcast. “Jake is a very correct person, so it’s happening. To make sure it’s done the correct way and it’s enduring, it stays for future generations, it has to be well-planned and structured, and we’re working on it.”

"Jake and I can do something huge."

Anderson Silva plans to uphold his bet with Jake Paul to organize an association for MMA fighters.#PaulSilva | Full video: https://t.co/YkHc74JKqX pic.twitter.com/BBLROdCwYm
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 30, 2022

Had Silva won the fight — and the bet — Paul would have agreed to fight the MMA legend in a kickboxing bout. Instead, the 48-year-old Brazilian will serve as interim president of the yet-to-be-created “united fighters association” to advocate for mixed martial arts fighters to get better pay and long-term healthcare.

“We need all the help we can get,” Paul said after the bet was made. “Francis (Ngannou), Israel (Adesanya), even Andre Ward spoke about this in the boxing world. [Georges St. Pierre] has tried to make this happen before, so we just need all the help we can get and I think Anderson is a great start.”

Silva also indicated that he’s open to a rematch with Paul down the line or possibly a boxing match with former UFC contender Nate Diaz, Paul’s next opponent, once he’s done with his ongoing movie projects.

“Maybe we can fight the winner or whoever accepts the challenge to fight me,” Silva said. “Let’s see if that works.”

More must-reads: