One is a YouTube star turned professional boxer. The other is a former UFC middleweight champion and mixed martial arts superstar.
So, when SportsBetting.ag oddsmakers installed Jake Paul as a -180 favorite after news of a potential fight against MMA legend Anderson Silva broke on Tuesday, the public jumped on the action.
Silva moved from a +150 underdog to the -135 favorite with the sportsbook reporting 61.1 percent of the bets backing him through the first 12 hours of action. By Tuesday afternoon, Paul’s odds had lengthened to +130 with Silva’s shortening to -160.
‘Bad Opening Number’
“It was a bad opening number,” said SportsBetting.ag director of trading Robert Cooper. “We know we’re going to get action on Jake Paul from our public players, and we have, but this is the first Paul fight the pros have really come out and hammered his opponent.
“All of the smart money is on Silva at this point.”
The fight is expected to take place on Oct. 29 at a site yet to be determined, according to multiple reports. While the fight has yet to be officially announced, Paul’s promotion company tweeted on Saturday that his next opponent will be revealed this week.
Anderson Silva vs. Jake Paul pro boxing match discussions are serious and ongoing but nothing is official right now, sources say.
Fight would be contested at 185 pounds, I’m told. Developing story. We should know more by the end of the week.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 30, 2022
Paul is 5-0 in his brief boxing career, with his most recent fight being a sixth-round knockout in a rematch against former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in December. He has since had scheduled bouts against U.K. reality star Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr. fall through.
Meanwhile, the 47-year-old Silva would be making his first appearance in the ring since September 2021.
“The Spider” was 17-7 in the UFC from 2006-2020, including a 16-fight win streak that remains the longest in UFC history. He also successfully defended the middleweight championship 10 consecutive times.
Silva is 2-0 in his return to boxing, including a first-round knockout of Tito Ortiz in his most recent fight.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
