UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes Jake Paul is deserving of respect.
‘The Problem Child’ made his return to the boxing ring last Saturday night on Showtime pay-per-view. In his comeback appearance, Paul continued his war against MMA legends, as he faced former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.
The bout was the most back-and-forth of the YouTuber’s career thus far. However, he once again prevailed and retained his undefeated record by unanimous decision. The fight was close, but Paul ultimately sealed the deal with an eighth-round knockdown.
Following the victory, many praised Jake Paul, as he secured the biggest win of his short-lived run in the sport. One individual that was very impressed by the YouTuber-turned-boxer is UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
On his podcast, the longtime commentator praised the undefeated boxer for his wins over Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley. Rogan also took time to hit back at fight-fixing accusations that Paul has faced his entire career.
“He demands respect, he beat Anderson Silva. Knocked him down, it was wild as f*ck… We should point this out, some people are trying to say that fight was fixed because of the knockdown,” Rogan stated on his popular podcast. “I just want to explain to people this is what happened… Anderson moved forward to Jake Paul and Jake Paul hit him with a sort of a step-in jab and caught him right on the chin. And when he caught him on the chin, Anderson Silva was falling backward and then he leans away from the right hand and he goes down. He was down from the punch, but it looks like the right-hand doesn’t connect, but the left hand is what f*cking him up.”
He continued, “That dude hits f*cking hard and for anybody to say he doesn’t hit hard because he’s a YouTube star, if this guy was not a f*cking YouTube star and he was some dude who went out there and flatlined Tyron Woodley with one punch and just knocked down Anderson Silva in the f*cking eighth round, dropped him… Come on, son. That is legit as f*ck. Anybody that says that’s not legitimate is crazy. He cracked him. He can fight.”
While Joe Rogan was impressed by the win, not everyone has praised Jake Paul’s recent win. Many, including Anthony Smith, have bashed him for not fighting an established boxer but instead boxing former MMA fighters.
The criticism likely won’t go away either, as the YouTuber is targeting a boxing match with Nate Diaz next.
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