YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul scored yet another upset in a rematch against former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Questionable social media personality Paul delivered a vicious knockout to Woodley in the sixth round of their fight in Tampa, Florida. The two previously traded blows back in August, a contest which ended in a split decision victory in Paul’s favour. The fight was much, much closer than Paul had been used to in his career thus far, and there were a few moments where it looked like the only thing keeping him upright were the ropes.
Before their rematch, Paul said: “Look, I was unhappy with my performance and I think that was a great thing for me because now, moving forward after that, I made so many adjustments. Everything, A to Z. My training, how hard I went, my strength and conditioning, my diet, my sleep, my recovery. Everything. I tried to get better, and it’s really paid off.
Before I was just going in there knocking everybody out. And Tyron was really tough and I wasn’t able to do that, so that pissed me off, and I’ve been pissed off for greatness ever since.”
Paul’s trademark attitude seems to have been backed up this time, though – as he won decisively in six rounds this time. This means that Jake Paul, somehow, has retained his undefeated 5 – 0 record for now. Unlike his brother Logan Paul who has failed time and again in the fighting industry.
Going into the fight, it may have surprised some to see Paul as the favorite, at odds of -270, whereas Woodley was +220 going into the fight. But he was clearly the more ready of the two following their respective training camps.
Woodley may have had the opportunity to learn from recordings of their first fight – something he declined to do the first time around, not finding much value in Paul’s previous opponents. While this certainly seemed to change his behaviour in the fight compared to the first time around, it didn’t carry as much weight as Paul’s changes.
The contest devolved into repeated clinching as the rounds progressed, much to the frustration of the crowd. Paul would repeatedly stagger Woodley’s momentum by putting the former champion in holds, stalling the action and presumably preserving vital energy himself.
But with 48 seconds left in the sixth round, Paul took Woodley out with a tremendous right hand, notching that undefeated record up to 5-0. Paul’s got a decisive victory over a genuine UFC champion, now. In his eyes – and indeed, the eyes of many others – he’s a legitimate contender.
Almost immediately after his victory, Paul was demanding fights with some of UFC’s biggest names. At the press conference, Paul called out Kamaru Usman, Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal and, of course, his big dream and apparent idol, Conor McGregor.
He’s desperate to get any of these big names into a boxing ring with him – but doesn’t seem too keen on stepping into UFC himself.
At a press conference after the fight, Paul said “I just knocked out a five-time UFC champion and embarrassed your whole company. Please, please let me get Kamaru Usman, let me get Diaz, let me get Masvidal, let me get McGregor because I’m going to embarrass them too.“
Jake Paul and Dana White aren’t really on the same page as far as boxing goes. McGregor may have been allowed to box Floyd Mayweather back in 2017, and that event might have been incredibly successful (whether or not the fight itself was any good is another question). But is Jake Paul, YouTube personality, subject of several sexual controversies, really on the same page as either of those men?
Probably not. Just because there’s precedent, doesn’t mean those stars are going to align because Paul’s won a few fights. He might be as loud as McGregor and Mayweather, but his career started on the Disney Channel at the end of the day. He’s put on some great shows, but he’s not quite on their level yet.
Jake Paul is planning on spending the rest of his life in the boxing industry, one day hanging up the boxing gloves and sticking around as a promoter with his own brand, Most Valuable Promotions. So it isn’t unlikely that we’ll see him featuring in more fights going forward, maybe even including the latest UFC lines.
Paul has jokingly said he would win a world title, get the belt, throw it on the ground and stomp on it, because he already “knows he is a champion”. The line between a joke and a premature brag is always pretty thin for these guys, though – so maybe Paul does have his eye on a championship somewhere down the line.
Jorge Masvidal – one of the big names Paul called out after his Woodley victory – responded by challenging Paul to ‘come on over to UFC’ for his shot. “You can’t afford me to come over. Let me tell you a little secret about me. I fight for money or I fight the best in the world. You are neither. Come on over to UFC. Sign a one-fight deal. I will break your jaw in front of the whole world. If you want it, it’s here”.
