Silva vs Woodley Predictions: The Jake Paul opponents club convenes

UFC alumni collide this Friday, December 19 as Anderson Silva faces Tyron Woodley in a professional boxing match. The cross-codes clash takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua. Netflix will air the card live on their platform.

Read on for my Silva vs Woodley predictions.

Silva vs Woodley Odds

Silva is 2/5 to get the job done, a reflection of his greater success in the squared circle. Woodley is 12/5 to secure a maiden pro boxing win at the third time of asking. The draw is priced at 12/1.

Silva vs Woodley Fight Preview

There is something poetic about Silva facing Woodley on Jake Paul’s big night. ‘The Problem Child’ has beaten both these icons of MMA in professional boxing outings during his distorted journey to face Anthony Joshua. Now ‘The Spider’ and ‘The Chosen One’ compete for the title of best Jake Paul victim.

Some would call it misguided. Others might say tragic. But even as a staunch traditionalist, it is really hard to view anything in the world of ‘influencer boxing’ as mattering to the outside world at all. Is Mike Tyson less of a boxing icon because Paul gently jabbed his tattooed bonce for eight mind-numbing rounds? Is Evander Holyfield no longer ‘The Real Deal’ because UFC vet Vitor Belfort waited until he was 60 to knock him out in a shameful display? Of course not.

With that in mind, no amount of extra-curricular activity can erase ‘The Spider’. Silva is arguably the greatest striker in UFC history. He is certainly the greatest middleweight. What is beyond doubt is that his improvisational and explosive attack, languid and vicious in equal measure, left an indelible imprint on the sport of MMA.

Woodley is not the platinum-plated Octagon legend that Silva is. But the former UFC Welterweight champion racked up four defences alongside Fighter of the Year, Knockout of the Year and Fight of the Year awards. It is pretty much the UFC clean sweep.

Four losses on the way out of the eight-sided cage were an indication it was time for Woodley to hang up the fingerless gloves. But his fighting days were not done. ‘The Chosen One’ was exactly that for Paul, who picked him as his fourth pro boxing opponent.

Paul outpointed Woodley in August 2021, allowing himself another chance to crow about beating a ‘real’ fighter. But as with his third pro boxing outing against Ben Askren, the motor-mouth influencer had once again defeated an MMA fighter not noted for their striking.

Surprisingly, Woodley would secure a surprise rematch with the YouTube magnate. Paul had been scheduled to meet Tommy Fury, the Love Island star and boxing cousin of ex-heavyweight champion Tyson, in a December 2021 pay-per-view. After Fury pulled out due to illness and injury, Woodley got an unlikely second chance.

It would go worse than his first, as Paul knocked the UFC alumni out in six rounds of a scheduled eight-rounder. That appeared to be that for the former MMA champion.

But now he is gloving up again against a fellow legend of his former sport. Silva is unlikely to be easy pickings. The Brazilian might be 50 years of age but he has tasted previous success in the squared circle. 

‘The Spider’ had two boxing bouts earlier in his career, both before joining the UFC. Silva was stopped by 8-2 Osmar Luiz Teixeira in one round in 1998, when he had only had a single MMA outing. In 2005, Silva returned to the square ring to right the wrong, knocking out debutant Julio Cesar De Jesus in two sessions.

As Silva soared to untold heights in the Octagon, his brief boxing foray looked to have been consigned to the hobby draw. But a run of five losses in six fights brought about the inevitable end to one of the sport’s greatest careers. Only, Silva was not done fighting.

The Brazilian had been linked to a fight with the legendary Roy Jones Jr for years, but surprisingly ‘Captain Hook’ was not among the opponents he has faced since his boxing return. Instead, ‘Spider’ lit a fire under his boxing career by beating former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr via split decision.

Sure, ‘JCC Jr’ was over the hill, but he was also a decade younger and a career boxer. Silva was middle-aged and had been unceremoniously beaten out of MMA. The Brazilian’s win in the twilight of his combat career was a memorable one.

This mini-resurgence carried Silva through a highlight-reel first round KO of fellow UFC icon Tito Ortiz. It is a crying shame their contest was not under MMA rules as, even at their advanced ages, that would have been a dream fight. But boxing is on-trend, largely thanks to combatants like Jake Paul. So Silva scored a stunning KO over ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’.

These decent performances in the crossover boxing world earned Silva a crack at the king of all things influencer. it was the turn of ‘The Spider’ to bend the knee. Literally…

For many, Silva was supposed to be Paul’s undoing. But it was not to be. Anderson threw with handspeed and, on the rare occasions he put any mustard on his shots he rocked Jake’s head back. But there was a clear reluctance to throw too many full-blooded shots. Conservation of stamina or conservation of his bread-winning opponent? You be the judge. But a last-round knockdown gave Paul the glitziest win of his career to that point.

Silva has not fought in a professional capacity since, with Woodley similarly inactive. But on the undercard of Jake’s reckoning as a professional boxer, two of the men whose scalps helped get him to this moment are permitted to reap their rewards.

Silva vs Woodley Full Card

Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua

Anderson Silva vs Tyron Woodley

Alycia Baumgardner vs Leila Beaudoin

Yokasta Valle vs Yadira Bustillos

Cherneka Johnson vs Amanda Galle

Caroline Dubois vs Camilla Panatta

Avious Griffin vs Justin Cardona

Jahmal Harvey vs Kevin Cervantes

Keno Marley vs Diarra Davis Jr

Silva vs Woodley Prediction

Silva is 50 but Woodley is not spring chicken at 43. I don’t think the age and the engines are going to come into play too much. This will be combat at half-speed from the two retired UFC stars.

I give Silva the edge. He can throw smooth shots in combination, even if he does so less frequently than in his middleweight pomp. Woodley didn’t pick up enough boxing knowledge to land punches against a nascent Jake Paul. I don’t think he has suddenly acquired the boxing secrets of the Pharaohs in his three years off.

I’m going with ‘The Spider’ Anderson Silva at 2/5.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.