Vitor Belfort believes Jake Paul chose to fight Anderson Silva over him due to power: “I could see he is really afraid to face fast and explosive opponents”

Vitor Belfort believes Jake Paul picked to fight Anderson Silva because it will be easier.

The former UFC middleweight champion hasn’t competed in MMA since a May 2018 loss to Lyoto Machida. Following that defeat, Belfort parted ways with the promotion. The 45-year-old then signed with ONE Championship.

However, ‘The Phenom’ never fought for the promotion and was released in 2021. Belfort has since decided on a career in professional boxing. Last September, he faced 59-year-old Evander Holyfield in an exhibition boxing match on Triller pay-per-view.

Vitor Belfort knocked out the former heavyweight champion in round one. Following that, he called for a matchup with Jake Paul. ‘The Problem Child’ has made a career of boxing former UFC stars, such as Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

The 25-year-old will likely face a former UFC star next, but it’s not Vitor Belfort. Earlier this week, it was reported that Paul will face Anderson Silva in October. While that bout isn’t confirmed, it seems that it’s trending that way.

The 44-year-old believes that fight being made is a sign that the YouTuber is afraid of his power. In an interview with Sherdog, Belfort previewed the matchup between Paul and Silva.

There, he opined that the YouTuber-turned-boxer is afraid of his power, hence why he’s fighting ‘The Spider’. However, Belfort also believes that won’t matter, as Silva will likely beat him anyway.

Image Credit: Showtime Boxing

“My agent was talking Jake’s agent, but the fact is that they were choosing good fights for him. He didn’t want to fight Hasim [Rahman] Jr. because of his weight; he canceled the fight with Tommy Fury, which we don’t know exactly the reason for. Later, we started to talk, but he put a lot of problems and demands. And I just saw yesterday that he chose Anderson Silva.” (h/t Sherdog)

Vitor Belfort continued, “I could see he is really afraid to face fast and explosive opponents with knockout power. He rather faces slower fighters, where his chances to reach the end of the fight are bigger. He is aware that if he is not finished by Anderson, that will mean a great win for him, but I think Anderson will beat him.”

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