Anderson Silva clarifies claim he was ‘knocked out two times’ while training for Jake Paul fight

The former UFC champion boxes the YouTube star on Saturday night

Anderson Silva has clarified that he ‘misspoke’ in an interview in which he said he was ‘knocked out two times’ in training for weekend’s boxing match with Jake Paul.

Former UFC champion Silva, 47, is due to fight YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 25, in Arizona on Saturday (29 October), and the Brazilian told MMA Weekly last month that he had been ‘knocked out two times’ in training.

But on Wednesday (27 October), Silva released a statement, saying: “After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things.

“One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring. I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring.

“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”

Before Silva released his statement, Paul’s fellow YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI tweeted: “Anderson Silva has said that he’s been knocked out twice before his fight against Jake Paul…Think we know how this is gonna go…”

Silva replied to the Briton: “Young man please don’t try and spread rumors that were simply bad English. You and Jake are such an inspiration to the youth. Build together. Don’t burn.”

KSI then said: “I have no respect for Jake. He is no inspiration. Only thing he wants to build, is himself. He’s destroyed more bridges than a tsunami. Either way, my bad. Good luck in your fight.”

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Sillva is considered by many to be the greatest UFC fighter of all time, his seven-year middleweight title reign representing an unbroken record in the mixed martial arts promotion. The corresponding 16-fight win streak is also an unbeaten record in the UFC.

While the Brazilian is 3-1 as a professional boxer and holds a points win over former world boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Paul is 5-0 and has knocked out each man he has fought – including ex-UFC title holder Tyron Woodley.