In fact it very much was. Whittaker, affectionately known as “Bobby Knuckles” and actually nicknamed “The Reaper,” suggested a jump to the “Sweet Science” on his MMArcade Podcast recently. The comments came in response to the Silva vs. Woodley fight, with Whittaker’s co-host noting that Woodley had a “rough go” in the match, which took place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua undercard.

“Knocked him out in the second. That’s wild,” stated Whittaker, apparently in awe of Silva’s latest feat, and suggesting he could join Silva and Woodley in the boxing realm.

“I might be on the next card with him! It depends how much he’s getting paid. That was a big card, Netflix card. I’m sure the paycheck was considerable,” exclaimed Whittaker. “I think everyone likes to throw hands for a decent paycheck.”

“Yeah, it interests me for sure, certainly,” Whittaker stated later, asked if he would move to boxing after his UFC career wraps. “Yeah. It definitely interests me, especially like, not actually having to go through the boxing circuit the way a lot of guys did. If I can move straight up to these like, what are you going to call them? What sort of fights are these UFC guys that are coming into boxing doing? Those sort of fights. You know what I’m talking about.”

“I think there’s some money to be made there. I think it keep me fit. I think it’s definitely an aspect of the sport that I enjoy. I’ve always loved striking. So to move into that field would be cool. It would be a nice, fresh change.”

Whittaker is coming off back-to-back losses against Khamzat Chimaev (who went on to win the UFC’s 185lb title) and Reinier de Ridder. The de Ridder fight was Whittaker’s lone contest of 2025. He does not currently have a fight scheduled.

Numerous mixed martial artists have made the transition to boxing in recent years, to varying degrees of success. Those include Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, Vitor Belfort, Jose Aldo, Cris Cyborg, Silva, Woodley, and of course Conor McGregor.

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The unlikely match-up sees Paul, a former Youtube content creator turned boxer, taking on his first real challenge in years. Yes, Paul has shared the ring with Mike Tyson, but Mike Tyson at 58 and coming off a serious health scare. Aside from that, he’s defeated the likes of Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva – all former mixed martial artists well past their prime.

Two of those former Paul opponents are actually featured on Friday’s card at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Anderson Silva, once thought retired, was supposed to face Chris Weidman in a boxing match earlier this year. With that falling through (and an entire Paul fight against Gervonta Davis also crashing and burning), he instead gets Tyron Woodley.

It’s a smart move by Paul and his business partners, who seem to know that the MMA fanbase is as invested in him as the boxing world. With two audiences to draw from, it’s more eyeballs on the product. And since it’s on Netflix, it’s free, as long as you subscribe to the streaming service. With the fifth season of Stranger Things just landing, a lot of folks have renewed their subscriptions, so Paul vs. Joshua comes at an opportune moment for “The Problem Child.”

So, what’s the problem? Legitimacy questions abound. Paul has threatened to sue anyone suggesting the fight is fixed, and denied that there was anything in either his or Anthony Joshua’s contract suggesting as much. Of course, no one fixing a fight is about to write it into a contract that would later be used as evidence; the bigger issue is whether Joshua will simply look to cruise to victory over an opponent he not only out-sizes but should also drastically out-skill.

There’s always the chance that Joshua sleeps on Paul, the way Tyson Fury seemed to sleep on Francis Ngannou in their encounter. That said, it feels unlikely, as big of a spectacle as this fight should be. Still, anything other than a big finish by Anthony Joshua, a former IBO, IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion, will likely be looked upon as a failure.

Where to Watch Paul vs. Joshua

Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on Friday, December 19, 2025. The card streams live on Netflix starting at 8PM ET following online prelims on Youtube. Those kick off at 4:45PM ET; full results from the event can be found below.

Paul vs. Joshua Results

Main Card (8PM ET/5PM PT on Netflix)

Anthony Joshua def. Jake Paul by knockout, Round 6, 1:31
Alycia Baumgardner (c) def. Leila Beaudoin by unanimous decision (117-110, 117-110, 118-109) — For the WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring women’s super featherweight championship 
Anderson Silva def. Tyron Woodley by TKO, Round 2, 1:33
Jahmal Harvey def. Kevin Cervantes by unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)

Preliminary Card (4:45PM ET/1:45PM PT on YouTube)

Cherneka Johnson (c) vs. Amanda Galle by unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 97-93) — For the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring women’s bantamweight championship
Caroline Dubois (c) def. Camilla Panatta by unanimous decision (99-90, 99-90, 99-90) — for the WBC women’s lightweight championship
Yokasta Valle (c) def. Yadira Bustillos by majority decision (95-95, 98-92, 96-94) — for the WBC women’s strawweight championship
Avious Griffin def. Justin Cardona by knockout, Round 1, 2:59
Keno Marley def. Diarra Davis Jr. by unanimous decision (40-35, 40-35, 40-35)

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Per a report by veteran combat sports journalist John S. Nash, Le. vs. Zuffa claims administrator Angeion Group has filed a report on the processing of class member claim submissions. Funds to eligible claim members are set to be distributed “no later than September 16,” but it’s the numbers breakdown that may raise eyebrows.

Based on the newly filed report, the average payment to claimants who are part of the class action lawsuit will be $231,022.29. The median sits at $86,034.65, while the highest payment will be $10,334,240.72, which will go to Anderson Silva, per Nash. The lowest payment set to be issued, meanwhile, is $16,138.45.

Per the terms of the settlement between Zuffa/UFC and the class members, eligible fighters should see 32.7% of their total bout compensation earned during the class period paid to them, plus $14,179.33 per fight.

That’s not chump change.

Dragging out through the court system in Nevada for over a decade, 2014’s Le. et al vs. Zuffa alleged the UFC had underpaid its fighters, maintaining a Monopsony and utilizing anti-competitive business practices to keep fighter pay down. The two sides reached a settlement in 2024. A second class action lawsuit, covering a later class period post-2017, Kajan Johnson, et al. v. Zuffa, LLC, remains ongoing.

Anderson Silva remains the most decorated middleweight champion in UFC history. Now 50, he last competed inside the octagon in 2020, before moving on to a brief, and somewhat successful boxing career. “The Spider,” in his heyday, was one of the most feared competitors in mixed martial arts, as well as one of the most recognizable. His ten (consecutive) title defenses remain a UFC record; Silva is also a two-time UFC Hall of Fame member.

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Cris Cyborg and Anderson Silva both had long reigns in their respective weight classes in MMA- Cyborg, in fact, continues to serve as the Bellator MMA women’s featherweight champ – and both have dabbled in boxing in recent years.

On Saturday, Cyborg put down an out-gunned Aria Wild at the O2 Arena in London, England, dropping Wild with a nasty right hand that capped off a thunderous combination. Wild appeared out of her depth, and learned what many of Cyborg’s MMA adversaries had in years past: the Brazilian’s power was no joke.

4-0 and I’ve already got more KO’s than Claressa Shields who’s had about 100 boxing fights 😂 pic.twitter.com/eSZUBr8GKH

— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) June 16, 2024

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 3, if you wanted to connect it to their pair of UFC contests, rather bizarrely aired only in Brazil. Billed as “The Grand Finale of Anderson Silva,” the fight went the distance across five rounds.

Promoted by brewer Spaten, the card received little notice outside Silva’s home country, with fight fans questioning late Saturday where they could even watch it.

The exhibition match started with Sonnen coming on strong, going to the body and working his jab, with Silva keeping his back to the ropes, countering. “The Spider” was more selective in his attacks, compared to Sonnen’s volume. Late in the round, Silva complained about a punch to the back of the head, with the ref warning Sonnen, though the blow was purely accidental.

More often than not, Sonnen was hitting air with his attacks, Silva being the faster fighter. Sonnen’s form was a little less tight in the second, with the pace already seeming to get to him a little. In the third, Silva began to double up on his jab, hitting the mark repeatedly. That led to some showboating by the former middleweight champ in the fourth; Sonnen would tie things up, but wrestling his way to victory wasn’t an option here. Sonnen would go down that round, but it was more of a push, with Chael rolling back then getting straight up to his feet.

The fifth and final round saw Sonnen bloodied around the nose, then shell up at the final bell as Anderson Silva let his hands go. There was little question that Silva was the “winner,” though the fight amounted to an active sparring match. Exactly what an exhibition bout between two aged warriors should be, frankly.

No scores were announced, given the exhibition nature of the contest at Spaten Fight Night. Whether it is truly the “Grand Finale” of Anderson Silva remains to be seen.

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Spaten Fight Night announced the bout on Sunday night.

Silva (34-11 MMA, 3-2 boxing) will step into what is assumed to be his last combat sports bout. Silva comes off a decision loss to Jake Paul in October 2022. Prior to that he knocked out Tito Ortiz in 2021 after taking a close decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in 2021.

Sonnen (30-17-1) has not competed in combat sports since 2019 when he lost consecutive bouts to Fedor Emelianenko and Lyoto Machida respectively. After a 14-fight run in the UFC where he went 7-7 he moved onto Bellator where he put together a 2-3 record.

The two have fought twice in MMA. In 2010 Sonnen challenged Silva for the UFC middleweight title. After dominating for nearly 5 rounds Silva caught him in a triangle choke which forced Sonnen to tap.

The rematch came two years later, but Sonnen lost via second round TKO.

The match is being dubbed a ‘grand finale’ of sorts for Silva who is yet to announce whether or not he will retire following the bout.

No weight class, fight classification or rounds were released by the promotion. No other bouts have been announced for the card which will take place in Silva’s home country.

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Promotion officials announced during the UFC 300 broadcast that Silva vs. Sonnen I would be inducted into the Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing. That meeting took place at UFC 117 in 2010, and saw Sonnen, with his strong wrestling, dominate the hitherto bulletproof Silva for the better part of five rounds.

At least until “The Spider” threw up a Hail Mary triangle choke late in the fifth round to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

Sonnen was denied the middleweight title as a result, and would lose a rematch — not to mention a light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones a little later. But it is the Silva fight that most fans see as a classic, despite the large asterisk that came after, when Sonnen failed his drug test while sporting an extremely high testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio.

“The American Gangster” was later suspended by the CSAC for the infraction, with the commission in particular expressing concern over a past conviction for money laundering, not to mention Sonnen’s claim that then-NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer had approved him for TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). Kizer later went on record to say no such approval had ever been made, and that he and Sonnen had never spoken about the matter.

“The first fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen was incredible,” said UFC President & CEO Dana White in a press release issued in conjunction with Saturday’s annoucnement. “This is the fight that made Anderson a star and showed the world that Chael could compete with anyone in the division. This incredible dogfight had everything you want in a five-round title fight, and it will be an honor to induct this fight into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

The Hall of Fame induction will take place during 2024’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

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While the rising play-by-play superstar enters the fray as a massive underdog, Davis is confident that he will get the job done and effectively shock the world in his influencer boxing debut.

“I’m a guy who is consistently underestimated. I’m going to be overlooked heading into this one. And I think I’m gonna surprise a couple of people,” Davis said in an interview with Cageside Press. “I’m thinking fourth round TKO or I will get it done on the scorecards. Listen, I’m gonna be there late… I’m gonna be there when he doesn’t want me there. And when he’s sitting in between rounds and looking across, and I’m staring right back at his ass – I think I can break him.”

“The Bane” began his career by commentating Esports, or what he calls “the biggest backdoor entry to play-by-play there’s ever been.” Backdoor or not, he managed to parlay his Esports work into a highly impressive network, providing insightful play-by-play commentary for numerous high-level promotions that can be found on UFC Fight Pass. Davis worked back-to-back events to begin the month, starting with Uriah Faber’s A1 Combat in Los Angeles on September 1, before making his way to Anthony Pettis Fighting Championship (APFC) in Indiana where he called fights alongside UFC Welterweight Belal Muhammad, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, and Boston Anik, twin brother of longtime UFC commentator Jon Anik.

While it is clear that Davis has had his hands full with media work as of late, his budding play-by-play career hasn’t stopped him from launching a full fight camp in preparation for his upcoming bout with two-time kickboxing champion Gabriel Silva. 

“I’m doing my camp at Arizona Combat Sports. “Showtime” Seth Wheeler will be my head coach preparing me for the fight – he’s one of the best strikers in the state,” Davis said. “I’ve already had such a fun year, this would be a great feather in the cap – to be able to go out there and execute the game plan that Seth and I are cooking up and to come out victorious – I think it’s a real possibility.”

In addition to training in his home state of Arizona, Davis and Wheeler are set to travel to Florida to get some work in with Billy Quarantillo, one of the most electrifying strikers in the UFC featherweight division. “The Bane” is well aware of the gap in fighting experience between Silva and himself, but he has been training hard and is ready to put on a show for the fans in attendance and viewers from around the world.

“It’s a mountain to climb, but I’m prepared for it. Win, lose, or draw – I’m going to go in there and leave it all in the ring,” Davis said.

Ben “The Bane” Davis takes on Gabriel Silva at Misfits Boxing 009 on September 23 in Newcastle, England.

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Anderson Silva wants to wrap up MMA career in Japan

He’s done with the UFC, but Anderson Silva is looking to have one last fight in MMA — preferably in Japan, where he got his start.

Speaking to Fight Hub TV (h/t Bloody Elbow), the legendary UFC middleweight, who has been competing in boxing of late, even has an opponent in mind.

“I try to [have] my last fight in MMA in Japan. Because I started fighting in Japan. And that’s what I try to do. My last fight in Japan. My last MMA fight in Japan,” Silva told the outlet. “I’m just waiting. Maybe Hayato Sakurai? Because Hayato Sakurai fought with me in Shooto and I think this is a good fight for us. We’ll see.”

You’ve got to imagine that RIZIN would be down for something like this. Sakurai (38-13-2), at 47, is a year younger than Silva, but has not competed since a 2016 RIZIN bout, that saw him pick up a win over Wataru Sakata.

Logan Paul lookalike speaks out following altercation with Nate Diaz

Following a well-publicized incident at Misfits Boxing 6, the man on the receiving end of a Nate Diaz choke has spoken out about the altercation.

The man choked out by Nate Diaz last night (Logan Paul lookalike Rodney Petersen) reveals the head injury he suffered as a result…

[🎥 Rodney Petersen/@Overtflow] pic.twitter.com/X9YvM2NKbY

— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) April 22, 2023

“I don’t know what the hell I did to Nate Diaz, but I’ll tell you what, I’m going to knock him the f*ck out!” Rodney Petersen exclaimed in video posted to social media. “You caught me off guard. What, did you think I was Logan? What the f*ck!”

Could we be seeing Diaz vs. Petersen in Misfits Boxing? No, probably not. Though if this wasn’t a setup, maybe in a courtroom.

Bobby Green goes OFF following UFC Vegas 71 No Contest

Bobby Green was seconds away from being announced as a TKO winner against Jared Gordon at UFC Vegas 71 on Saturday when the commission halted the announcement, reviewed the fight ending sequence between Green and Gordon, and declared the bout a No Contest.

The ruling came as a result of an accidental clash of heads that had knocked Gordon senseless — and was almost certainly the correct call. Still, Green was understandably upset at seeing his win bonus go up in a puff of smoke.

Which explains his animated response when asked how he was feeling after the fight.

“We’re gonna let some feelings out today. F*ck this, f*ck this, and f*ck this! I get it, I get it, we f*cking clashed heads. I was trying to go for an elbow, and he kind of dipped his head, and we kind of clashed,” recalled Green. “But, he was still f*cking moving. He was trying to put me into a f*cking triangle, I fought the triangle sh*t off, and he was still fine. And then I busted his ass, POW, then he was f*cked up. He was still, straight. They’re trying to slide me outta my money. That’s what I’m mad about. I need my money bro. I need my money.”

Welp, that might be the last time I ask Bobby Green about his feelings #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/BhFN6H1mh9

— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) April 23, 2023

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