Chris Weidman believes Tyron Woodley’s legacy took a massive hit when he suffered a vicious KO loss to Jake Paul earlier this month.
In August, Woodley dropped a split decision to the former Disney actor and YouTuber. Although the former UFC champ lost, it wasn’t an embarrassing defeat. But in the rematch, he was brutally knocked out. For Weidman, he believes that hurts Woodley’s legacy in a major way.
“Damn, Tyron Woodley is going to have to live with that. It seems like they’re just comparing him to Ben Askren now,” Weidman said on his YouTube channel. “He’s not going to get another chance, like that’s it. I don’t know who he’s going to fight that we give him the draw and excitement that he would need to like elevate him back… I think his legacy has definitely been tarnished, which sucks to say.”
Although the KO loss is difficult to deal with, Tyron Woodley had made it clear he will fight again. As for Paul, Chris Weidman hopes the YouTuber-turned-boxer faces his former rival, Anderson Silva, next.
“I would love to see him fight Anderson Silva. He’s calling out all these fighters with UFC contracts. I don’t think he’s really–none of those are really going to happen at this point. The UFC would have to get behind it almost like a Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather type match.
“But unless you’re drawing in $500 million like the Mayweather and Conor McGregor fights were doing, the UFC’s not doing that because they want to split it. They would split it, but if it’s not that type of money, they’re not doing it. So (we’re) wasting our time even talking about (Nate) Diaz, (Jorge) Masvidal and (Kamaru) Usman,” Weidman concluded.
Do you agree with Chris Weidman that Tyron Woodley tarnished his legacy?
One week ago today, Tyron Woodley was knocked out by Jake Paul. However, three years ago today, the then-UFC champion Woodley envisioned knocking out Conor McGregor.
The following article is brought to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 25, 2018, 6:41 PM]
Headline: Tyron Woodley Envisions Knocking Conor McGregor Out
Tyron Woodley has reason to believe he could be knocking out Conor McGregor in the future.
Tyron Woodley and Conor McGregor have had their names linked together in the past, beginning as early in 2016 after a backstage incident at UFC 205, the same event McGregor would become the first champion in two different weight classes simultaneously.
One idea floated around for McGregor’s next performance following this achievement was potentially moving up to challenge Tyron Woodley at welterweight. Woodley welcomed the idea, but McGregor would not compete again after UFC 205 until earlier this year at UFC 229, when Conor McGregor made his long-awaited return to attempt to reclaim the lightweight championship against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
One of the millions of viewers for that showdown was Tyron Woodley himself, who came away with an even bigger confidence boost should a bout between him and McGregor ever materialize:
“Yeah,” Woodley responded in an appearance on Fair Game with Kristine Leahy on whether he believes he’d defeat Conor McGregor, “especially after watching him fight Khabib. You know, Khabib is dope, and he was undefeated. When it comes down to overall martial arts and being able to be a great striker, and power, and wrestling, and defense, and striking, I think Khabib is dope for his pressure and his wrestling. But his striking is not the greatest in his division, and he was able to knock Conor down. So if Khabib could knock you down, I think I might be able to knock you out,” Woodley said.
Had McGregor been victorious, both Woodley and McGregor would have gotten their wish: McGregor would have an opportunity to claim even more gold in his UFC career, while Woodley would finally get the big money fight he has longed for.
But with McGregor now fixated on earning his way back to Khabib and Woodley with a dual-title threat of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, a Woodley vs. McGregor bout may just end up on the long list of matchups that never was.
Do you believe Tyron Woodley would knock Conor McGregor out if the two were to clash in the Octagon?
Daniel Cormier isn’t a fan of how Tyron Woodley has handled himself following his sixth-round knockout loss to Jake Paul.
Woodley has rolled with the punches since the devastating defeat, even going as far as hosting a fan contest on his Instagram for the best knockout meme. He ended up paying one fan $5,000 for a meme that went viral earlier this week.
Woodley appears to be optimistic about his fighting future and is handling the loss on his terms. However, Cormier doesn’t like the optics of Woodley making fun of himself in light of the vicious knockout.
“It’s a bad look. And you know what’s worse? [What happened] after,” Cormier said of Woodley. “I don’t know what T-Wood was doing on social media. He pulls the knockout. He made a contest about [making memes of himself], it’s like Jake Paul is beating these dudes so bad, that they start to make fun of themselves.” (h/t Sportskeeda)
Tyron Woodley Looks To Get Back To His Old Winning Ways
Woodley took the fight on just days’ notice after Tommy Fury pulled out due to an injury. He was allegedly getting ready for a fight in January when the call came for a rematch with Paul.
Woodley has appeared forward-thinking after the loss to Paul, hinting at a busy 2022. He’s planning on potential boxing and MMA fights as he approaches his 40th birthday.
Woodley has had his fair share of struggles as of late. Before his back-to-back losses to Paul in the boxing ring, he lost four-straight bouts in the UFC before ultimately parting ways with the promotion.
What are your thoughts on how Tyron Woodley has handled the KO loss to Jake Paul?
Ranked UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley thinks the legacy of Tyron Woodley took a massive hit this weekend.
Like most of the combat sports world, O’Malley tuned in on Saturday night to see Woodley box Jake Paul for the second time. The active UFC fighter witnessed Paul pull off a sixth-round knockout, flooring Woodley with a wailing overhand right.
Image Credit: AP
O’Malley described his viewing experience, mentioning how the knockout caught him off guard after a fairly slow-paced fight before then.
“I was watching them on my laptop with my eyes kind of shutting. It was the sixth round getting closer to the end of the fight. It looked like it was probably gonna go all eight [rounds] and it was a close fight,” said O’Malley on Episode 168 of the TimboSugarShow. “I didn’t really know who I had necessarily winning each round. But, out of f*cking nowhere, [Paul] slept him… bad!”
O’Malley Says Woodley’s Legacy Has Been Damaged
Jake Paul, Tyron Woodley, Credit: AP Photo
Woodley, a former UFC welterweight champion, has now lost two boxing bouts to Paul. O’Malley sees the outcome as something that has damaged his reputation greatly. However, he also mentioned its important how Woodley feels about the loss.
“Dude, it completely destroyed his f*cking legacy,” said O’Malley, who just pulled off a win two weekends ago at UFC 269.
O’Malley compared the outcome to Ben Askren’s loss to Paul. He mentioned how Askren seemed comfortable with losing, even after it happened. However, he also said that not just anybody can feel that way about a loss.
“That could affect Tyron Woodley big time, or he could just be completely unattached to that and still be happy. That’s a f*cking skill that you have to require.”
Did Tyron Woodley’s loss to Jake Paul damage his legacy?
Woodley on social media announced that he was holding a contest for fans to create the best meme of him being knocked out by Jake Paul. He said he saw all the memes of the KO, so he wanted to have fun with it and the winner would get $5,000.
On Tuesday, the winner was revealed as Woodley took to Instagram to share the best meme and proof he sent $5,000 to the fan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwI1gxLY2K/
In the video, the Instagram user named Chris Ashley posted a video featuring Woodley’s knockout that shows him falling into the shadow realm while taking trips through several locations, including the new Spider-Man movie and being a part of Finding Nemo before ending up face down on a couch alongside Ben Askren and Nate Robinson, who suffered the same fate when clashing with the social influencer turned boxer.
Although Woodley did suffer a vicious KO at the hands of Paul on Saturday, the good news is he is having fun with the loss. He is having his fans create memes and paying them for their hard work.
Tyron Woodley Aims To Bounce Back From Meme Infamy
Tyron Woodley is now 0-2 as a boxer and is 0-6 in his last six fights between MMA and boxing. However, he made it clear he would come back and that this was not the end of him in combat sports.
“I’m not done,” Woodley said at the post-fight press conference. “Please do not look at me with sorrow eyes. Please do not look at me shaking your head. I done f*cked a lot of people up. A lot of people had to have that talk in the locker room. A lot of coaches had to go back to the drawing board. A lot of people, in their mind, they knew that they knew, and I saw in their faces and I broke their heart when I took that from them.
“At some point, you’re going to have to start putting a little bit of respect on Jake’s name. I never really disrespected him as a power puncher,” Woodley continued. “That’s something we always knew. That’s why my defense was so tight. Had he dropped his hand on me, the same sh*t would have happened. I can’t cry over spilled milk. I’m blessed to be here. I’m blessed for the opportunity to fight again and show you guys that I’m f*cking still here.”
What do you make of Tyron Woodley paying the fan $5K for his meme?
Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley remains optimistic about his combat-sports future after back-to-back losses to Jake Paul in the boxing ring.
Woodley fell short of revenge against the always-polarizing Paul, getting hit by a powerful right hook that sent him collapsing to the canvas in round 6. It was a relatively uneventful fight to that point, with both fighters appearing hesitant to push the action and seeming hell-bent on working in the clinch.
Many fans in the combat sports community quickly wrote Woodley off following the knockout loss, but he remains forward-thinking ahead of the new year. During his post-fight press conference, Woodley encouraged fans not to forget his name just yet.
“I’m not done. Please don’t look at me with [sad] eyes,” Woodley said. “Please don’t look at me shaking your head. I done fucked a lot of people up. And a lot of people had to have that talk in the locker room, a lot of coaches had to go back to the drawing board, a lot of people in their mind, they knew that they knew that they knew. And I saw it in their face and it broke their heart when I took that from them.”
While Woodley was upset with the result in the rematch against Paul, he feels he’s in a great position to bounce back.
“I can’t cry over spilled milk,” Woodley continued. “I’m blessed to be here, and I’m blessed for an opportunity to fight again and show you guys that I’m fuckin’ still here. And I told my coaches in the back: I said, ‘He back. The young, hungry bull that started and went on this crazy run in the UFC, and Strikeforce, and all these different organizations: he was back. And I can actually say that I was back.”
Woodley was released by the UFC following four-straight losses in the Octagon. Beginning with losing his welterweight title to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235, he arguably looked like a shell of his former self in additional bouts against Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington.
It’s unclear what exactly is next for the former UFC champion, but Woodley seems hell-bent on continuing to compete in multiple aspects of fighting moving forward.
What do you think should be next for Tyron Woodley?
Jake Paul is looking to pair up previous opponent Tyron Woodley and former NFL player Le’Veon Bell for a boxing match.
Paul scored a highlight-reel knockout over Woodley this weekend, marking his fifth pro win as a boxer. This win drew the attention of many who thought they could take him in the ring.
Of the many challengers is former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell, who issued a challenge via Twitter. Paul expressed disinterest in this fight, passing the challenge to former UFC Welterweight Champion Woodley.
@jakepaul fight me, stop tryna fight ppl who can’t box
“[Paul,] fight me, stop tryna fight ppl who can’t box,” said Bell via Twitter on Saturday night.
“Aye [Woodley] this clown saying you can’t box. How about you show him as part of the next MVP event? Tyron would drop you faster than the Ravens,” said Paul, referring to Bell’s short run with the Baltimore Ravens this year which concluded after the team cut him in November.
Tyron Woodley Reacts To Le’Veon Bell’s Tweet
Tyron Woodley, Image Credit: UFC.com
Woodley would respond to Bell’s challenge directly, warning the former NFL pro not to underestimate him based on one knockout loss.
Cause i made one mistake you think it's sweet? Don't get it fucked up homeboy https://t.co/kaRtVzn4Xy
“Cause i made one mistake you think it’s sweet? Don’t get it f*cked up homeboy,” said Woodley.
Woodley may well be interested in taking on Bell, having retweeted Paul’s comment on the situation and posting his own status.
Paul’s promoter, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), is no stranger to letting footballers lace up boxing gloves. Long-time San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore fought just this weekend in an exhibition against former NBA player Deron Williams.
While Woodley hopes to fight in MMA again someday, he recently noted that he is open to doing more boxing as well. A fight against Bell would give him the opportunity to score his first win in the sport.
Do you want to see Tyron Woodley vs. Le’Veon Bell?
Tyron Woodley thinks it’s high time to give Jake Paul some more respect.
Minutes after the first fight between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley, Woodley demanded a rematch, and the two opponents awkwardly revamped their tattoo bet during the post-fight interviews. This time, the immediate aftermath was much more amicable.
Woodley bore the brunt of defeat right on the chin, with no excuses and a hard lesson learned. Although naturally, as stated in the post-fight press conference, he would still like to fight Paul again if he had it his way.
Nevertheless, with redemption slipping through his fingers, that leaves both hands free to give Paul well-deserved applause for the legitimate threat he poses as a fighter. According to Woodley, that respect has always been there from his end, so now it’s time for the rest of the public to follow suit.
“So at some point, we’re gonna have to put a little respect on Jake’s name,” Woodley said at the post-fight press conference. “I never really disrespected him as a power puncher. That’s something we always knew. That’s why my defense was so tight. And had he dropped his hand on me, the same shit would’ve happened.”
That KO did not happen for him, and Woodley would exit the Amalie Arena without the extra $500,000 he was hoping for. Woodley did have Paul literally on the ropes in their first encounter, but many people believe his lack of follow-up aggression let Paul off the hook.
(via Amanda Wescott/Showtime)
It is uncertain where Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul will go from here, but it’s safe to say that the Paul/Woodley chapter of both men’s careers is officially closed. At 24 years old, Paul has many more pages to fill in his athletic story and many more opportunities to continue earning respect in every passing fight.
For the 39-year-old Woodley, that respect has already been earned long ago, whether or not his story continues.
Jake Paul and Dana White have been firing shots at one another for almost the entirety of 2021. The two central themes the two have quarreled about are UFC fighter pay and Paul’s legitimacy as a fighter.
Dana White did not give Paul much of a chance to defeat Ben Askren when that fight was made early this year. He even stated that he’d be willing to bet $1 million on Paul losing to “Funky.” White later claimed that this bet was never made, which would be fortunate for him because Paul made short work of Askren in their April bout.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Triller
Though Askren was a UFC fighter, many people did not give Paul much credit for the victory in hindsight. After all, “UFC fighter” label aside, Askren is well known to be a wrestling specialist.
But now, Paul has knocked out a well-rounded former UFC champion. And in so doing, he believes he knocked the entire promotion down a peg, including their outspoken boss.
“I just knocked out a five-time UFC champion and embarrassed your whole company,” Paul said in a message to White during the post-fight press conference.
Jake Paul Sends A Follow-Up Message To Dana White
Jake Paul would not stop there. He would then deliver another message to White, pleading with the UFC boss to let him continue “embarrassing” one UFC star after another.
“And please, please let me get Kamaru Usman,” Paul said. “Please let me get [Nate] Diaz. Please let me get [Jorge] Masvidal. Please let me get [Conor] McGregor. Because I’m gonna embarrass them, too. I promise you that, Dana. I promise you that.”
Jake Paul
Jake Paul has already called out each of the aforementioned fighters. The only one of the four to not acknowledge Paul at all is Conor McGregor. Usman and Masvidal have both directly expressed an openness to box Paul. Diaz has also had some choice words for Paul in the past, and the rumor mill holds that the Stockton slugger would also be open to fighting Paul.
Nevertheless, all of those four names remain under UFC contract, which means they are unable to fight Paul without the permission of Dana White. And White has made it abundantly clear time after time that will never happen.
Do you believe Jake Paul embarrassed the UFC by knocking out Tyron Woodley?
Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 took place live tonight, and MMA News has you covered with the results and highlights!
Despite this fight coming together on short notice, Paul and Woodley managed to make a strong 11th-hour promotional push for this event. That includes a press conference that took place Thursday where both men once again made some bold predictions. It also includes a very contentious face-off yesterday at the ceremonial weigh-ins.
Tonight, all the promotion and talking came to an end and Jake Paul Left No Doubt. But before we get to the highlights of the main event, here’s a look at the highlights from the feature bout between former NBA star Deron Williams and former NFL Pro-Bowler Frank Gore and the co-main event between Amanda Serrano and Miriam Gutierre.
Tonight, Tyron Woodley will face Jake Paul in a rematch of their highly promoted bout from August. But before he was boxing YouTubers in specialty prize fights, he was the undisputed UFC champion. However, according to Woodley, you would have never known it by the way he was treated by the UFC.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 19, 2017, 8:51 AM]
Headline: Tyron Woodley: Race Responsible for Being “Worst-Treated Champ in UFC History”
Author: Adam Haynes
Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley believes that being an African-American in the UFC has worked against him and other fighters when it comes to promotional appeal.
Woodley feels that the UFC can capitalize on stardom in an effort to convert more African-American fans from boxing and other sports to MMA.
UFC’s welterweight champion is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to promote both him and the sport as a whole to the African Americans, and feels as though the time has come for the franchise to do so:
“I think I’m the only African-American fighter on the roster who can capture the market,” Woodley said. “Especially with Floyd Mayweather retiring and things like that. But you have to educate the community on what it is. Most people in the community, those people think that mixed martial artists are a whole bunch of crazy white guys kicking on each other and they sprinkle in a few brothers. That’s their thought. They don’t see it as karate, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, sambo. They don’t see it’s a beautiful art with so many martial arts combined in them.”
Woodley’s frustration also stretches to another fighter he feels has not been promoted to the best of the UFC’s abilities, the current flyweight champion and pound-for-pound #1, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
The Missouri native brought questions [courtesy of ESPN] to the fore regarding black fighters (such as Johnson), have not attained the level of superstardom which white fighters such as [Conor] McGregor and [Ronda] Rousey have:
“The best pound-for-pound fighter, Demetrious Johnson, African-American male, completely a Tasmanian devil,” “Why isn’t he getting the endorsements? Why isn’t he making the most money? What’s the difference? Think about it.”
“I’m by far the worst-treated champion in the history of the UFC. Blatantly fact.”
Woodley appears to be genuinely incredulous as to why the UFC have, as he feels, not made more of an effort to market him:
“I’m a husband, I’m a father of four, I’m a gym owner,” Woodley said. “I’m an actor. I’m an analyst. I’m a stuntman. I’m a Christian. Every avenue you can take me, I’ve done it. I grew up in the projects. I grew up in gang banging. Family of 14 in a four-bedroom house and I made a choice to be successful. What is there not to market? I’m fighting like hell. I’m not doing performance-enhancing drugs in my life. Why would they not want to market me?”
Tonight, both Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson will be in action four years after the publication of the following article. Woodley will look to leave no doubt that he is better than Jake Paul while Thompson will be competing against Belal Muhammad at UFC Vegas 45. The two also made headlines earlier this week for having some level of involvement in the Netflix series Cobra Kai.
As far as their own personal history goes, Woodley and Thompson fought one another in the UFC two times. The first encounter at UFC 209 resulted in a majority draw. Prior to their UFC 209 rematch, which Woodley would go on to win, Thompson believed he had “The Chosen One’s Number.”
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 10, 2017, 11:52 PM]
Headline: Stephen Thompson: ‘I’ve Got Tyron Woodley’s Number’
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
The welterweight title rematch between champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson is finally official. After trading barbs and talk of big money fights, the two finally reached a deal to scrap once again at UFC 209.
“Wonderboy” and “The Chosen One” went to war at UFC 205 in New York City in November. Thompson took an incredible amount of punishment, but was never out of the fight. They went the distance and the fight was ruled a majority draw. Both men earned a “Fight of the Night” bonus.
Woodley still argues that he was the clear winner in their first encounter and that in the rematch, he’ll prove that he is the better fighter. Thompson has other plans (via MMAJunkie Radio):
“There’s going to be no doubt in everybody’s mind who the winner of that fight is going to be, and that’s going to be me.”
Before agreeing to fight “Wonderboy” again, Woodley tried to secure a super fight with Nick Diaz. When that didn’t materialize, he aimed for middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Thompson criticized Woodley for trying to settle for a draw.
“He wants to fight everybody else but me is what it seems like. We did fight to a draw last time, which, in my eyes, we might as well have not even fought at all. It almost seems like he’s happy with a draw, and he’s OK with it. In my eyes, as a champion, I wouldn’t be happy with that.”
Thompson believes he has the champion figured out. The challenger is confident that he will walk away with only his hand raised and gold around his waist.
“I know I can hit him, and I can hit him with some power. I’ve got his number, man. Next time we step out there, I can just go out there and do my thing.”
UFC 209 takes place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.
The infamous Logan Paul Japan incident had a massive effect on Jake Paul, too.
Nowadays, there is argument that the younger Paul brother is the most notable one, at least in the realm of combat sports. However, when both Jake and Logan were massive on YouTube, it was Logan who was the notorious one, being known for going to suicide forests in Japan and filming a dead body for a video on his channel in 2017.
While this incident and the subsequent backlash that came from it was directly in regards to Logan, Jake Paul recently explained in an interview that it also had a huge impact on his life too. In fact, he opened up about implied suicidal thoughts after feeling like his life was falling apart in the wake of multiple sponsors dropping him simply because he was Logan’s brother.
“There was a point where everything went downhill for the Paul brothers. It was after my brother’s Japan incident, where no-one wanted to work with us,” Paul said (h/t Mirror UK).
“Every brand I was affiliated with dropped me, I wasn’t even the one who filmed the video. It was just by way of association because my brother filmed in the suicide forest.
Logan Paul (Photo: YouTube)
“My life was pretty much ruined. YouTube demonetized me, every brand dropped me,” Paul continued. “I had a $10 million deal with Target that was going to live, they dropped me. I’m sitting there at 21, I lose basically all my income because of something my brother did, I’m blacklisted. Everything in my life was falling apart. Dark thoughts come into your head of like ‘I don’t wanna be here on earth anymore.’”
As for how he was able to pull himself out of this depression, Jake Paul explained that he sought out religion to help him. Now, with a refocused mindset and determination, he does not plan on letting anything else stop his success.
“At the time, I was just looking for hope, so I started going to church. Start talking to adults who would have any sort of advice,” Paul explained. “The media wants to see me fail, and I’m not gonna give them what they want. I made the decision to wake up every day and change my attitude. I started telling myself every single day when I woke up in my bed I’m happy and I’m gonna be happier next week than I am this week. I would just tell myself these things, and it helped. I just made that decision to not give up.”
It is great to see that Jake Paul found help for his suicidal thoughts and that his methods ended up working for him. While every situation is different, it is important to remember that it is never too late to turn around any situation in life.
Colby Covington won’t be paying any attention to Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 this Saturday.
In the main event of a Showtime pay-per-view in Tampa at the Amalie Arena on Saturday, Paul and Woodley will be running it back. The two fought back in August where Paul won by split decision, but Woodley rocked the YouTuber-turned-boxer badly and nearly finished him. Now, ahead of the rematch, the tagline is “Leave No Doubt.”
Although the original fight was Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury, the Woodley rematch is as if not more intriguing. Yet, for Covington, he has no interest in seeing the fight again and has informed the YouTuber that his “son’ Woodley was not granted his permission to attend this event.
Photo via Instagram @showtimeboxing
“The thing about that, you know, is Snake Paul knows that I didn’t sign off on my son Tyron Woodley to go out there and fight, but he went out there and he should have won that first fight, but obviously he was paid off to not finish Jake Paul,” Covington said to Submission Radio. “I’m not signing off on the second fight, Jake Paul, to let my son Tyron Woodley come back. No one cares about it, the fight’s on a week’s notice ’cause Tyson Fury pulled out or, whatever, that boxer over in the UK.”
Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley have a documented history together. After a feud that ran for years, the two finally met in the Octagon last year, where Covington picked up the dominant victory.
Although Jake Paul has a massive following and does sell, Colby Covington certainly has a point that the rematch with Tyron Woodley is not as hyped. Part of that is due to the fact the fight was made on short notice.
Regardless, count Covington as one of many MMA fighters who won’t be tuning into Paul-Woodley 2 on Saturday night in Tampa on Showtime.
Will you be watching Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 on Saturday?
Pardon the pun, but Tyron Woodley has perfectly played his hand with Jake Paul.
After losing to Paul in their first fight in August, Woodley agreed to follow through on a bet that saw him get an “I Love Jake Paul” tattoo in exchange for an immediate rematch. Regardless, it initially appeared that this would not happen, as the YouTuber was slated to fight Tommy Fury. However, the former welterweight champ stepped up on just a few weeks’ notice to replace Fury after a rib injury had him removed from the December 18th contest.
Ahead of the rematch, Tyron Woodley made it clear that he was not worried about having a constant reminder of losing the first Jake Paul fight on his finger, and now we know why.
Tyron Woodley Making “I Love Jake Paul” Tattoo Dissappear
Speaking to Morning Kombat at the open workouts on Wednesday, T-Wood revealed that the tattoo has almost completely faded away, something that regularly happens to tattoos on hands that are not taken care of properly.
Image via YouTube – Morning Kombat
“I purposely did it to troll the troll,” Woodley said (h/t Mirror UK). “Anybody who has a tattoo on the inside of their hand, or a tattoo artist knows it fades. I got it on the finger that means the opposite of love, I put it on that finger but I knew it was going to wear down. Taking showers, washing your hands, boxing, battle ropes, turf – I didn’t want to walk around with his name on me for the rest of my life.
“I agreed not to have it removed, I agreed to have it permanent, but I never felt I lost the fight anyway, so I wasn’t super psyched about getting it,” Woodley added. “It wasn’t something I mapped out and had all this work into it.”
Well, there is no denying that what Tyron Woodley did ended up working out for him in the long run. Not only did he get the Jake Paul rematch that he wanted, but he also does not have to worry about having this embarrassing tattoo for the rest of his life.
Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley came to face to face two days out from their big rematch, and we’ve got you covered with the press conference highlights.
This Saturday (Dec. 18), Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley will leave no doubt as to who is the superior boxer when the pair reunite in a rematch of their August contest. Thursday, a press conference was held for the two competitors to field questions and address one another face to face.
Tyron Woodley: “I just bet I’ll beat his ass. That’s my bet.”
Jake Paul: “I’mma eat your a—I mean, I’mma beat your ass.”
With a ski mask, makeshift world title belt, and Freudian slip, you never quite know what to expect from a Jake Paul press conference.
Paul wore the ski mask because, as he put it, being paired with someone he already defeated for another big payday is tantamount to a bank robbery. He also brought along with him a “Most Valuable Boxer” championship belt prop. As for the Freudian slip, Paul has already made his fondness for Woodley’s backside well known, yet even “The Chosen One” had no choice but to laugh at Paul’s off-color gaffe.
Tyron Woodley reiterated that this rematch with Paul was destined to happen and that he considers Saturday’s fight to be Round 9 of their August 29th bout. More than anything, Woodley wants to redeem himself on Saturday for letting Paul off the hook the first time out. The former UFC welterweight champion once again seeped with confidence ahead of his upcoming bout.
Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 Press Conference Coverage
Below, you can find the extended highlights from today’s press conference.
And here is the face-off between the two fighters:
Finally, if you would like to view the full press conference uncut and uncensored, you can do so down below.
Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 takes place December 18 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. It will be available on SHOWTIME PPV in the US, Fite TV in the UK, and Kayo Sports PPV in Australia.
Be sure to check in with MMA News Saturday night for full coverage of this special attraction event!
If Tyron Woodley can get revenge against Jake Paul this weekend, plans are already in place for a trilogy between the polarizing boxers.
Woodley is set to face Paul in a rematch a few months in the making and will fill in on short notice for the injured Tommy Fury. Just days before the fight, Fury announced he had pulled out of the bout due to a bacterial chest infection suffered in camp.
Woodley is planning on making the most of his opportunity in a rematch with Paul after Paul passed him up on a rematch in favor of a fight with Fury. After losing to Paul earlier this year, Woodley agreed to get the infamous “I love Jake Paul” tattoo if Paul promised to run it back.
During a recent interview with TMZ, Woodley talked about a potential trilogy in the future with Paul and his plans for the rematch this weekend.
“I felt like I won the fight, but when I go back out there and beat his ass and win this fight and win by knockout and go onto a trilogy and do it again and leave no doubt, that’s the real ‘leave no doubt’. I like how they have the headlines down,” Woodley said. “To me, there was no doubt the first time. I watched the fight last night. How do you lose [rounds] 4, 5, 6, 7, 8?
“So this is the nail in the coffin, this is just basically what I should have done the first time. The third time will be no doubt.”
Tyron Woodley Seems Keen On New Boxing Career Chapter
Woodley had allegedly already been focusing on a potential boxing return in January against a to-be-determined opponent, although rumors of a fight with former UFC fighter Dan Hardy were rampant. He has recently teased an active 2022, featuring multiple boxing fights and a potential return to MMA.
If Woodley can get revenge against Paul in their rematch, it would set up arguably one of the most unusual trilogies in combat sports history. There’s undoubtedly a lot on the line this weekend for both boxers as they complete another chapter in their rivalry.
What is your prediction for Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2?
Heading into this fight, Jake Paul told Morning Kombat that he was a completely different and better fighter than he was the first time he fought Woodley. He explained that going the distance in their first fight and getting hit hard for the first time in his still-young career gave him a new level of motivation in this training camp, which led to him getting better everywhere.
“I don’t expect it to be more difficult, mainly based on my skills having improved so much since the last fight. I’ve sparred close to 200 rounds and gotten a lot better. I’m early in my career, so the amount that I can change in between fights is still massive. Going from my fourth fight to my fifth fight, I’ve gotten a lot better, and I went into camp with a chip on my shoulder because I wasn’t happy with my performance last time,” Paul said.
Jake Paul, Image Credit: RYAN HATTAWAY
“(The biggest thing I learned) was to just stay calm, stay focused, stick to the gameplan, don’t worry about what happens. It’s boxing, you’re gonna get hit, you’re gonna get tagged, keep going. Stay calm. That was the biggest thing. But having actually done it now, I have a lot more confidence going into this fight. I’d never even been hit with a ten ounce glove, in a professional fight. So Tyron was the first person to actually punch me. My first three opponents didn’t even land a punch, so that was my first time feeling what it was like to get hit with a ten ounce glove. Great learning experience. Got buzzed in the fourth round, no problem. Going 8 rounds, my cardio’s good but can be better.
“It’s all improvements, and if I had went out there and knocked him out, I wouldn’t have gotten as good as I am now, because I wouldn’t have been as hungry between camps,” Paul added.
Time will tell just what kind of improvements Jake Paul made during his time between fights and if it is as substantial as he seems to believe it will be. This will be the first time in his four-fight boxing career that the YouTuber will be having a rematch, so it will be interesting to see what his adjustments are this time around.
At first, it seemed that this was not going to happen, as Paul was slated to face Tommy Fury. But when Fury got injured, the former UFC welterweight champion was tapped in for the December 18th contest.
Some might think that this constant reminder of losing to Paul would motivate Woodley to train harder and be more aggressive, but that is not entirely the case. Speaking in a recent media scrum, he explained that the tattoo has nearly faded, and he plans to make up for it by knocking Paul out this weekend.
“It’s not really a motivator, it’s a part of the story. I watch some of my peers walk around with some dumb ass shit tattooed on their face, that they gotta live with ‘till their 80 years old. It’s just a reminder what we did, what we created,” Woodley said.
“I never looked at the (first) fight ‘till about a week ago when All Access was coming in to shoot the All Access shit, and I never saw how many people was there,” Woodley added. “I never saw how crazy and how electric the fucking arena was, and this is a part of the story… It’s almost gone by the way, so I don’t have to look at it too much longer, and when I go out there and knock his ass out on Saturday, I’m not even gonna trip about this tattoo.”
Well, there is no denying that Tyron Woodley was able to properly game the system by getting this tattoo in a way that worked for him while still helping to get him the Jake Paul rematch that he wanted. The two will settle the score this weekend in a Showtime Boxing PPV main event taking place in Florida.
Stephen Thompson reveals he and former rival Tyron Woodley have been involved in some way with the Netflix smash hit Cobra Kai.
Cobra Kai is crushing the views. The sequel to the 1980s The Karate Kid filmsis hailed as a solid mix of drama, martial-arts action, and a heavy dose of nostalgia for some older viewers.
It’s no surprise that a series so entrenched in martial arts is reaching out to actual martial artists. And there may have been no better choice for a cameo than real-life karateka, Stephen Thompson.
The former title challenger revealed that not only is he involved with the show, but so is a former MMA champion turned boxer in Tyron Woodley. The revelation came when “Wonderboy” was asked about the upcoming Woodley vs. Jake Paul rematch on a recent episode of The MMA Hour (h/t MiddleEasy).
“I think so, he’s got to (win). I think Tyron gets it,” Thompson said before letting slip that they are both to feature in Cobra Kai. “I chatted with him not too long doing some Cobra Kai stuff. I can’t really give too much away but we were there hanging out [on set], and yeah, the beef has been squashed. Since then, he’s awesome and fun to hang out with while we were there. I didn’t get to hang out with him a ton but while we were there on set.”
Cobra Kai Never Die
Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley face off ahead of their world title fight.
Thompson wouldn’t divulge their role but did say they would not be in the forthcoming season that releases later this month.
It may be some time before we see the fighters on the small screen in an acting capacity, but both men will be active this weekend in very different roles. Stephen Thompson is set to take on Belal Muhammed in the co-main event of UFV Vegas 45 on Saturday. On the same night, Woodley looks for revenge against Jake Paul in a rematch of their October bout.
Will you be tuning in if Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley are announced to appear on an episode of Cobra Kai?
Despite Tyron Woodley being set to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul for a second time this weekend, his fellow former UFC welterweight Dan Hardy still hopes to fight him in 2022.
Woodley, a former UFC Welterweight Champion, departed MMA’s biggest stage after losing four fights on the bounce. After an unlikely feud with Paul developed following the internet personality’s boxing match with Woodley’s teammate Ben Askren, “The Chosen One” put his reputation on the line by throwing on the gloves for a bout with “The Problem Child.”
After a largely uneventful eight rounds, the combat sports community was left disappointed as Woodley fell on the wrong side of a split decision. Despite his calls for a rematch, which culminated in him seemingly honoring a pre-fight tattoo bet, Woodley appeared to be left out in the cold by Paul, who suggested he’d never run it back with the 39-year-old.
With the latest revelation, it stands to reason that this clash could be in jeopardy, especially if Woodley emerges victorious on December 18 and sets up a trilogy match with Paul. But despite surprisingly rooting for his foe, Hardy still believes he could be standing face-to-face with Woodley next year.
During an appearance on Submission Radio, “The Outlaw” suggested his planned matchup with Woodley, which was looking good for March, still has time to go ahead.
“It makes sense as to why he’s gone a bit quiet with the other promoter that we’ve been speaking to. Because, you know, they probably had him in reserve thinking one of these guys might fall out anyway. But, you know, the fight that we were talking about is in March, so there’s still time to make that happen… If he wants to fight, I’ll fight him. As long as he knows that’s the facts then I’m happy. He knows that there’s a contract on the table, and if he doesn’t sign it, then he knows the reasons why and they’re between him and himself.”
Tyron Woodley has since come out and stated that a fight against Hardy does not excite him, thus throwing even more cold water on this bout taking place. Still, who’d have thought that a Jake Paul performance in the ring would play a factor in whether or not we see Dan Hardy, who hasn’t competed since 2012, and a former UFC champion throwing on the boxing gloves? What a bizarre state combat sports is in.
Would you like to see Dan Hardy and Tyron Woodley settle their differences inside the squared circle next year?
Heading into this bout, Woodley is approaching things with a completely different mindset than the first fight. Speaking in a recent interview with Submission Radio, he said that he is going into this rematch very aware of the antics that Jake Paul will try to use, saying that he is already getting DMs from the YouTuber.
“I expect him to try to do something to ruffle my feathers. He’s a kid, you know what I mean? That’s what I’ve also gotta remember. There’s gonna be antics, he’s already started social media stuff, he’s sending me DMs,” Woodley said. “I’m already expecting that. But disrespect won’t be tolerated. So if they do that again, last time they got a warning, this time there’s gonna be action. So I don’t think that’s gonna happen. But I do expect shenanigans. I expect him to do some BS at the press conference.”
It will be curious to see how this press conference goes between Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul, and if there are any sort of altercations that happen as a result of it. That said, it does seem unlikely that either man would do something to put this fight in serious jeopardy, no matter what antics are being used.
Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley 2 goes down this weekend, December 18th, and you can watch the full interview with the former champ in the video below:
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley has suggested a potential boxing match against Dan Hardy isn’t an exciting prospect for him.
Woodley has made an unlikely crossover into the world of celebrity boxing since his release from the UFC earlier this year. Following four consecutive losses against Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Vicente Luque, “The Chosen One” found himself in search of a new venture in combat sports.
That came in the surprising form of a journey into the ring to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. To the disappointment of most in the MMA community, Woodley fell on the wrong side of a split decision and allowed Paul’s unbeaten boxing record to extend.
Whilst Woodley immediately and publicly called for a rematch, even appearing to get the pre-agreed tattoo forfeit, Paul moved on and was set to face a professional boxer for the first time in the form of Tommy Fury. However, “TNT” pulled out earlier this month, leaving the door open for Woodley to snatch at an unlikely rematch. The pair will now run it back in Florida this weekend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXJZxbwrxTI/
Woodley: Paul Rematch Is “More Exciting” Than Hardy Clash
After Fury’s withdrawal and Woodley’s short-notice opportunity, Hardy discussed his own feud with “The Chosen One” on Submission Radio, suggesting the contract had been agreed to on his end for the March date. Even with the latest development, which has seen him surprisingly support Woodley, “The Outlaw” suggested their clash could still be made in time for 2022.
However, that seems to be a largely one-sided intention. During his own appearance on Submission Radio, Woodley confirmed that he never signed the contract. The 39-year-old admitted he only wants fights against big names that excite him, boxes he doesn’t believe a Hardy matchup checks.
“If I wanted just a little easy, walk-through fight, where I feel like just going in there and beating somebody up, maybe I entertain it. But I never signed the contract to fight him. Some people on Monday were talking to my management team about me fighting him, and I’ll listen, but I didn’t commit. At the end of the day I’m focused more on this (Jake Paul rematch). This is more exciting. More people care about this. Nobody even knows who he is (Hardy).
“I’m not against anything in 2022. But when it comes down to boxing. If this trilogy with Jake goes the way I plan it… I need something that excites me. When you see Dan Hardy’s name on a piece of paper it don’t make me like, ‘Ah I gotta do this,’ you know what I mean? Avenging a loss, or fighting somebody big, or super-fights; anything like that at my point in my life right now, that gets me out the bed, gets me training. Dan Hardy, take a ticket, take a number.”
While the claim that nobody knows who Hardy is can perhaps be disputed, the idea that Paul is a much bigger draw and will bag Woodley a much more handsome paycheck certainly isn’t up for debate. That’s especially true now that “The Problem Child” has offered Woodley a $500k bonus if he can knock him out on December 18.
The first clash between Paul and Woodley, which took place in August this year, sold around 500,000 pay-per-view buys. It’s hard to imagine Woodley vs. Hardy coming even close to that figure. With those numbers in mind, it’s easy to understand why Woodley wanted to prioritize the rematch with Paul over a grudge match against Hardy.
Would you like to see Tyron Woodley and Dan Hardy settle their differences inside the squared circle next year?
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley says that while he won’t get reckless in his rematch with Jake Paul, he won’t be “as patient” as he was in their August contest.
After a four-fight losing skid saw Woodley fall from the 170-pound UFC mountaintop to being released from the promotion earlier this year, “The Chosen One” turned his attention to a new combat sports venture. In an effort to avenge his teammate Ben Askren’s first-round knockout loss to Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, the 39-year-old entered the ring with the 24-year-old for what was his professional boxing debut.
Despite his experience inside the Octagon, Woodley was unable to hand “The Problem Child” his first defeat, falling to a split decision loss on the scorecards. He immediately called for a rematch and hoped for a chance at redemption, but it appeared Paul had moved on and would not be looking back at the former UFC star.
That all changed earlier this month when professional boxer Tommy Fury, originally scheduled to be Paul’s fifth opponent, pulled out, citing a broken rib and bacterial chest infection as the reasons for his withdrawal. On two weeks’ notice, Woodley stepped in to save the Showtime pay-per-view card, and secure his chance for revenge.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXTpH1YlGEE/
Will Woodley Let His Hands Go?
The major factor behind Woodley’s downfall in the UFC was his inability to let his hands go. Many believe that in a tight and competitive fight against Paul, in which Woodley never really looked hurt, the veteran’s struggle to let go played a major part in his defeat to the YouTube sensation.
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Woodley echoed that sentiment. “The Chosen One” admitted he let Paul into the fight by not throwing enough, a mishap he’ll hope to avoid making when the pair run it back on December 18.
“I wanna go out there and just let go. For me, it’s never really been about someone beating me because they’re better, because my time has passed, or because they have better coaching, it’s all just been about me, for some reason, not letting go, and when I let go, nobody can touch me. But I didn’t let go. I let people into the fights that never should have been in the fights with me.”
Discussing what makes a fighter struggle to let go, Woodley clarified that his pursuit of “perfection” has left him far too cautious in recent appearances. Acknowledging the need to make fights “ugly” and tough, Woodley suggested he’ll approach the Paul rematch with a fresh approach.
“Overthinking, overanalyzing. Sometimes you become so skilled and learn so many techniques and defenses and counters, you’re so cautious and you know what could come. You just really wanna be perfect. Perfection, sometimes, gets in the way of mastery, you wanna master it… Sometimes you’ve gotta get a little ugly and grimey, and get in there, maybe get hit a couple times, to put yourself in position to get that opening.”
(via Amanda Wescott/Showtime)
Addressing his August defeat to Paul, Woodley insisted he wasn’t fearful of the Cleveland native’s power or hesitant to walk him down. Instead, he tried to find the balance between aggression and defense, citing Askren and Paul’s second opponent Nate Robinson as two who didn’t do so. While he won’t be as patient this time, Woodley says he certainly won’t be abandoning his defense on December 18.
“I can say I respected him too much or I can look at Nate Robinson that walked in there and ran into a punch and got smoked. My teammate Ben Askren kinda did the same thing, where his hands wasn’t in the proper position. If he got punching power, no matter who it is… I’m not saying that I was fearful, you saw me walking forward regardless, I got hit with it and I walked forward regardless… I wasn’t scared of getting punched. My training partners punch a lot harder and they’re more skilled than him. I just didn’t wanna be reckless. I think it’s a happy medium, I gotta find a line, you know, not crossing the line and just being reckless and not having my defense, but also not being as patient as I was.”
A defeat to Paul was understandably damaging for Woodley. While he now has the chance to get that loss back, and potentially set up a lucrative trilogy fight, back-to-back setbacks against “The Problem Child” would be catastrophic for the 39-year-old’s standing in combat sports. There is certainly a lot riding on Woodley vs. Paul 2.
Who do you think will have their hand raised on December 18, Tyron Woodley or Jake Paul?
Despite being offered a $500,000 bonus if he can knock Jake Paul out in their December 18 rematch, Tyron Woodley is after more.
Paul and Woodley met inside the squared circle earlier this year. In their August bout, the YouTuber-turned-boxer further legitimized his venture into the sport by adding Woodley’s name to his undefeated résumé. The former UFC welterweight champion joined former ONE and Bellator 170-pound titleholder Ben Askren as the second combat sports veteran to have failed to outbox Paul in 2021.
While many still slated Paul for not facing a professional boxer, it looked like “The Problem Child” was set to eliminate that argument this month in a match against the younger half-brother of heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury. However, Tommy, who boasts an unblemished 7-0 record in the ring, pulled out just weeks out, citing a broken rib and bacterial chest infection as the reasons behind his withdrawal.
With “TNT” out and the event potentially in jeopardy, Woodley has been granted the chance for redemption he’s called for ever since his split decision defeat to Paul. In a rematch billed as “Leave No Doubt,” the pair will collide in Florida next weekend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXJWGDjFTK6/
Woodley Believes He Deserves More
In recent weeks, talk over a potential clause in the contracts of Paul’s opponents that prevents them from knocking the Cleveland native out has become more prominent. In an effort to shut those rumors down, Paul has offered Woodley a lucrative $500,000 bonus if he’s able to secure a knockout win on December 18. But hunting an even bigger bag, “The Chosen One” wants more.
“We need a new bonus. ‘Keeping the hope alive and the card alive’ bonus. We need to add that too. Might as well say half-a-bag since that’s what we’re throwing out there. Like Dana White said, ‘Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Performance of the Night’ – same thing. So I think we should throw another 500,000 just because all these people would’ve wasted their time, their training camp, their coaches, all these incidentals to train. Tommy Fury would’ve caused all of them not to fight. The venue, the ticket sales, the refunds, the sponsors. So yeah, let’s get another 500,000.” (h/t Sportskeeda)
While it seems like optimistic, who can blame Woodley for shooting his shot for some more cash, especially given the kind of numbers that seem to be prevalent in YouTuber and celebrity boxing matches.
Either way, a knockout victory on December 18 would certainly see the former UFC champ leave the ring a whole lot richer. A loss, on the other hand, would add to the embarrassment of his original defeat to the internet personality.
The stakes are as high and bizarre as you’d expect from tis matchup, although we haven’t heard any tattoos mentioned yet…
Who do you think will have their hand raised on December 18, Tyron Woodley or Jake Paul?
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