Report: Anderson Silva Granted Arizona Boxing License amid Jake Paul Fight Rumors

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been granted a boxing license to fight in Arizona amid a No Smoke Boxing report that he's set to square off against Jake Paul on Oct. 29 in Phoenix.

Danny Segura of MMA Junkie broke the license news on the 47-year-old Silva, whose reported fight with Paul was also confirmed by TMZ Sports and MMA Fighting.

Silva went 34-11 with one no-contest during his MMA career and successfully defended his middleweight title belt on 10 occasions.

Paul, a YouTuber and social media star, has gone 5-0 in his professional boxing career, which includes victories over former MMA fighters Ben Askren and Tyrone Woodley (twice).

Paul certainly has an age advantage over Silva at 25 years old, but the Brazilian figures to be his toughest challenge yet.

For starters, Silva is by far the most accomplished fighter Paul has ever faced. He once won 17 straight matches and held the middleweight title for seven years. Twenty-six of his 34 matches ended by knockout or submission.

In addition, Silva isn't going into this match without professional boxing experience. He fought twice in 2021 and earned victories over ex-WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr. and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.

On the flip side, Paul's dominance against Askren (first-round TKO) and Woodley (sixth-round TKO in the second battle) can't be understated. He's looked good in those bouts against professional MMA fighters, even if neither man had previous professional boxing experience.

Showtime PPV will be the home of the Silva-Paul fight, per No Smoke Boxing.