It's not a smooth transition most of the time, though. They're already old and it's really hard to make a transition when you've been trained and were fighting differently all your life. They're both combat sports but they're different disciplines. MMA strikers aren't boxers.
Smooth transition as in they've already got the skills, they just need to change their style a little bit. However, most MMA guys go onto fighting bigger names, and of course a elite boxer is going to have an advantage in the discipline they've trained for all their life, compared to someone who has learned multiple disciplines at once. I'd say if they picked smaller names, they'd have a lot more success.
Some MMA strikers are boxers. They come from boxing to MMA. That's quite clear in certain fighters. It's much easier to go from MMA to boxing, than it's the other way around. I think that's something most of us can agree on.
Like I said, Jake probably does it, and he might even knock Silva out since Silva isn't the best defensively. However, I think the key here is Jake hasn't really been threatened in his previous fights since they never really let go. Silva is going to let go, and put volume out there. So, we'll actually see Jake defending for once.
I agree. If these MMA fighters are moving into boxing, they should start from the bottom of the ladder.
What I mean is that if you're a striker in the MMA, it doesn't automatically make you a boxer. Although I agree that it's easier to shift from MMA to boxing than the other way around, it doesn't mean it's actually easy. Many MMA fighters are already catching their breath upon reaching the third and final 3-minute round. You can't survive boxing with that fighting condition.
Silva's volume may now be soft and in slow-mo. So Jake could still be confident that Silva is not anymore the dangerous spider the moment they'll face each other inside the ring.