Jake Paul has no plans to retire from combat sports anytime soon. The 3-0 pro boxer (against all 0-0 boxers) has inked a deal with Showtime and will meet former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on August 28.
On a recent Instagram live broadcast, Woodley, who witnessed his long-time buddy and training partner Ben Askren knocked out by Paul in April, spoke at length about the fight.
“Surprise, surprise, surprise, we back at it August 28,” said Woodley (ht MMA Fighting). “You would visualize Jake Paul getting his head knocked smooth off his neck. Sometimes you talk yourself into a situation that you can’t back yourself out of. My mom used to say, ‘Your mouth wrote a check that your ass can’t cash.’ That’s exactly what happened.”
After finishing his UFC contract, Woodley is free to compete against Paul. In the Octagon, Woodley has lost his last four fights. That streak began with his defeat to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 in 2019, which cost him the title he had held since 2016.
Woodley has stated that his forthcoming battle with Paul will be the most lucrative of his ten-year professional combat sports career. However, it appears that the purse is only one of several motivating factors for ‘The Chosen One.’
“All the clout chasing, all the yelling, all the blah, blah blah, ‘I’m a fighter, all the MMA guys don’t never want to fight me.’ Now, you got a motherf*cker that’s going to fight you like you ain’t never been fought before. Ain’t no sparring you can do to motherf*cking get ready for it. Ain’t no meditation. Ain’t no kum ba yah. Ain’t no mama se mama sa mama coosa. Ain’t sh*t you can do. You getting your ass beat. I’m pumped up about it.
“We gonna break some records, and I’m going to break a motherf*cking jaw while I’m at it. Get ready to make motherf*cking history. Breaking records.”
Woodley, a two-time All-American and Big 12 Conference winner, also admitted that he has always wanted to try boxing.
Woodley said he would be using his long time boxing coach Eric Brown to prepare for Paul. He added that a number of people had reached out to him to help him train for this fight, including former world middleweight and light heavyweight champion Andre Ward.
“Andre Ward, my dog, reached out. I cannot miss the opportunity [to work with him], it would be an honor and a blessing. Find some time to work with Andre Ward as well. After that, I’ll know more today.”
During his win over Askren at Triller Fight Club, Woodley also discussed how he felt while watching Paul and his camp.
“I was quiet. I let him do his little bling, bling, bling, say whatever he wanted to say. Like I said before, it was my dog [Ben Askren] chance to fight. It was not my fight. These dudes out here fitting to clout.
“He came into this sh*t out for clout. His cornermen out for the clout. Everybody’s out for the clout. Now your clout fitting to get you hit in the motherf*cking mouth.”
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