Aljamain Sterling shares his prediction for Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva

In response to a fan question on social media, Aljamain Sterling shared his final prediction for the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva clash set to take place later tonight.

'Funk Master' successfully defended his bantamweight strap for the second time last weekend after earning a TKO victory over T.J. Dillashaw. The champion with Jamaican roots has expressed his interest in taking a short hiatus from MMA, meaning it may be some time before he returns to the octagon.

While discussing the boxing match with fans, Aljamain Sterling picked Anderson Silva to win. However, he took the time to praise Jake Paul, stating that 'The Problem Child' is far from the easy opponent the media are making him out to be:

"[Anderson] Silva [will win]. But Paul can crack! He's not a tomato can that the headlines have lead us to believe. It'll be interesting"

Over the past couple of years, Jake Paul has been regularly seen as somewhat of a circus act by the MMA community. To his credit, the Cleveland native is slowly putting those insults to bed by proving himself inside the ring.

While many are not fans of his brash and confident persona, a large number of mixed martial artists have shown respect to the YouTuber turned boxer for his stance on UFC fighter pay.

No.1-ranked UFC bantamweight Sean O'Malley has been vocal in his support of Paul and has stated that he would love to see the 5-0 boxer face Nate Diaz inside the squared circle.

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Jake Paul's path to proving doubters wrong

After bursting onto the boxing scene with a three-minute knockout of fellow internet star AnEsonGib, Jake Paul craved a tougher test which led to him facing former NBA star Nate Robinson.

Once again, the 25-year-old made quick work of his opponent. However, despite showing clear ability inside the ring, he was criticized for avoiding experienced boxers.

In his next two outings, Paul knocked out Ben Askren and earned a closely contested decision win over Tyron Woodley. Even with those victories, the criticism persisted.

During his most recent outing, 'The Problem Child' granted 'The Chosen One' his rematch, but this time scored an incredible knockout of the former UFC welterweight champion. This began to silence those who doubted him.