Jake Paul to face UFC legend Anderson Silva in boxing match on Oct. 29

Jake Paul has found his next opponent — and he's a combat sports luminary.

The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter will meet former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match Oct. 29 in Phoenix, Paul's Most Valuable Promotions announced Tuesday. The bout will be contested at 187 pounds over eight three-minute rounds. Silva, 47, is one of the greatest champions in UFC history and holds the record for most consecutive victories ever in the promotion (16).

«The plan is for me to fight at 185 [pounds] going forward and that's what I wanted this fight at given it was the weight Anderson Silva fought at during his reign as the most dominant UFC champion ever,» Paul told ESPN. «Anderson's team asked if we could set the weight at 187, 2 pounds more than what I wanted. That level of professionalism and precision is appreciated, and of course I agreed to his request.»

Paul was supposed to fight Tommy Fury last month at New York's Madison Square Garden, but Fury withdrew because of what he said were travel issues coming to the United States from England. Fury's replacement was Hasim Rahman Jr., son of the former boxing heavyweight champion, but that bout was canceled because of weight complications with Rahman.

This will be Paul's fourth fight against a former UFC fighter. Previously, Paul knocked out Ben Askren and went 2-0 against former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the most recent bout a knockout win over Woodley in December. Paul has not fought since then.

Silva, though well past his prime, has a better résumé than both Woodley and Askren in MMA and boxing. He was the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world for stretches during his lengthy title reign from 2006 to 2013 and one of the most creative