Anderson Silva scores brutal knockdown on Bruno Machado in exhibition boxing match, Jake Paul responds

Anderson Silva is still dazzling in the ring at 47 years old and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down any time soon.

In his latest boxing match, Silva put on a showcase against Bruno Machado including a vicious knockdown in the fifth round but the fight still made it to the final bell, which meant no winner was declared because the bout was contested as an exhibition.

Despite the outcome, Silva continued to impress since making the transition to boxing after calling it a career in mixed martial arts following his release from the UFC.

“He’s an amazing fighter,” Silva said about Machado. “He accepted the fight at the last minute. I’m so happy. He gives me the opportunity to move everything for you guys. Thank you for every single person who came today.

“I talked with my jiu-jitsu coach and maybe I fight in a jiu-jitsu tournament [here in Abu Dhabi].

With a massive height and reach advantage, Silva was content pawing at Machado early with a long jab as he kept his fellow Brazilian on the end of his punches. Machado was doing a lot of covering up with many of his shots being shrugged off by the former UFC champion.

Machado continuously attempted to close the distance while digging to the body with his punches and then attempting to go back up top to the head. In classic fashion, Silva was ducking and dodging with fast footwork and head movement as he sought to set up his combinations in return.

The two-minute rounds didn’t exactly allow for a lot of time to work but Silva was continuously controlling the action with Machado largely reacting to his punches. As the fight moved into the fourth round, Silva started to get more aggressive with some devastating power to the body and then continuously digging away with his deadly jab.

Late in the fifth, Machado made the mistake of engaging in a wild flurry with Silva and “The Spider” made him pay with a hellacious right hook. Machado crumbled to the canvas but he managed to make it back to the feet before the referee could count him out, which allowed the match to continue.

To his credit, Machado recovered between rounds and came back out ready to fight, although he was much more reserved with his offense while trying to avoid any more power coming back from Silva.

When Silva got more active, he was able to trap Machado against the ring to start unloading his punches where he was punishing Machado to the body and he also connected with a crisp uppercut. With just over a minute remaining, Silva cracked Machado with another stinging combination but he just couldn’t quite land a finishing shot.

Because the fight was considered an exhibition, there was no winner declared without a finish.

Still, Silva was clearly the more dominant fighter as he boxed up Machado round after round while also scoring the only knockdown in the bout.

While he hinted at returning to Abu Dhabi in the future, Silva didn’t address what’s next for him in boxing, although there have already been a lot of calls for him to serve as the next opponent for Jake Paul as he prepares to make his return in August.

Paul has already said he expects to fight on August 13 but there’s no word if Silva might be a potential option as he seeks to remain undefeated as a professional. Following the event, Paul actually addressed Silva’s performance with a post on Twitter.