Author: Anton Tabuena

Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul sat face-to-face ahead of their boxing match. It got heated, and also a bit petty.

Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley sat face to face in an interview to help promote their upcoming boxing match. In the middle of all those insults, and even a lot of pettiness, was a pretty serious accusation about performance enhancing drugs.

Woodley insinuated that people in Paul’s camp have leaked his PED use. The former UFC champion says he ultimately doesn’t care as he’s beaten a lot of steroid users in his career, but seems to have brought it up to see how Paul reacts.

Here’s the exchange:

Woodley: Speaking of bumps, those little bumps on you have on your face kinda alarm me. You wouldn’t happen to be taking PEDs, are you?

Paul: Listen, if you want to build an excuse right now.

Woodley: No, I’m just asking. I’m just wondering. I’m looking at your face, you have all this rage, and acting all unorthodox. Those are the signs of the PEDs.

Paul: I’m enraged? I’m not enraged at all.

Woodley: Are you taking PEDs?

Paul: No sir.

Woodley: Not at all? Okay.

Paul: No sir. We’re getting drug tested, are we?

Woodley: You got a couple of people in your camp that you might want to uh, evaluate. See how silent they are.

Paul: Are we getting drug tested or are we not? They’re building an excuse, I love that.

Woodley: I don’t need excuses, I’ve beaten a lot of people on steroids. (laughs) I take it as it’s flattering that you got to take an extra supplement to raise your level to where I’m at. I don’t care if you’re on horse tranquilizers, steroids, or if you get a whole new body from Walmart, you’re still getting slept.

Paul of course hasn’t failed a drug test in his short boxing career. He also repeatedly brought up that they will both be tested by the athletic commission as his defense.

It’s not the first time the YouTuber has been accused to taking illegal substances though. MMA coach Firas Zahabi also brought it up, saying that the absence of USADA and the flimsy drug testing protocols for the fight is why he believes Paul is “definitely” on PEDs.

Paul has also responded to “wanker” Zahabi and claimed he “had to Google what PEDs are.”

Luis Palomino says he took good care of his body and thought only elderly people needed the vaccine.

BKFC champion and MMA veteran Luis Palomino is currently dealing with serious health issues stemming from a particularly tough battle with COVID-19.

The WSOF and Bellator veteran is currently hospitalized, and he detailed the complications he had two weeks after contracting the virus.

“12 days no food, sips of water, massive headaches, body aches, fevers from day one still going today, shiver attacks, no sleeps longer than 2/3 hours, inflammation of the pancreas, diarrhea pure water just started to calm down with medication,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Diabetes just popped up from all the steroids (they’re) pumping me with and took my first ever insulin shots. The list goes on.”

Palomino, who just defended his BKFC title for the second time last June, was struggling to speak and breathe normally in a video he released from his hospital bed. He spoke about his health issues, hoping others won’t repeat the same mistake as he did.

“The real reason for this video is to inform you guys from my own experiences. I spent the last five years of my life without getting sick, by simply taking care of my body and my immune system,” Palomino said.

“Delta caught me slipping. That’s exactly what happened. My five year streak was broken really bad.”

The fighter says he contracted the virus after drinking with friends and celebrating his recent engagement. He didn’t think he needed the vaccine as he was fit, healthy and didn’t even get sick for years.

“I want to let you guys know this thing is very serious. I was completely against the vaccine except for elders and kids that are young and still have weak immune systems. That I was never against. I always encouraged the elders to get the vaccine, my mom for example, family members, friends. I always agreed that they should always take the vaccine. Now I encourage you all to take it. Pfizer, FDA approved. As soon as I’m out of here, my entire family… we’ll be taking it. At least it will keep you from dying.

“I spent 12 days without eating. Barely being able to drink anything. What I drank, I pooped out. Turns out, seven days of inflammation of the pancreas, high fevers, shivers, massive endless headaches. This thing nearly got me,” he said. “Don’t play with this stuff, guys. Get vaccinated.”

Palomino has 43 MMA fights to his name, and has fought in various promotions such as Bellator and WSOF, where he had two wars and FOTY contenders against Justin Gaethje. He has wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Daron Cruickshank, and Gesias Cavalcante.

He is also currently undefeated at 4-0 as a bareknuckle boxer, where he picked up BKFC title wins over UFC vets Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Jim Alers.

Palomino is based in Florida, a state which has the most COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths per capita in the US.

Two months training with Jake Paul paid better than six years of fighting MMA?

Jake Paul regularly criticizes Dana White and the UFC for not properly paying their fighters.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer claims he’s going after White to advocate for UFC fighters that can’t speak out, while some think it could all just again be for clout — the best way to do that is to bring facts, after all. Perhaps it’s a good mix of both, but either way, it’s good to see Paul actually supporting MMA fighters financially when it counts.

Apart from Paul perviously making a sizable donation to UFC flyweight Sarah Alpar for her training expenses, he also looks to be paying his training partners really well.

Anthony Taylor, who has fought for Bellator five times, was hired by Paul to be a sparring partner for his bout against Tyron Woodley. He says he was paid more to train for two months, than his combined purses on his 12 MMA bouts.

“I had the opportunity to fight in Cage Warriors but I couldn’t pass up the money Jake was offering,” Taylor told Betway Insider. “I’m getting paid more money as Jake’s training partner in two months than I made in my whole entire MMA career in six years. I swear to god, I made more money with Jake in two months than my whole MMA career.

“That’s disturbing when you think about it, because I fought for Bellator. I’ve fought two top five contenders in Bellator and I had a good run. It’s time to take it up a notch and fight for the UFC.”

Apart from the pay, Taylor also got a spot on the same high profile card. He is set to face Tommy Fury, a former reality show star and 6-0 boxer, who is also trying to get a match up with Paul.

“I’m about to bloody him up. He’s going to be in a dog fight,” he said. “He’s underestimating me, he’s looking over me. He thinks he is flying into Cleveland to win and then face off with Jake, but he ain’t even going to see Jake that night.

“When you compare Tommy’s fights to Jake’s fights, Tommy’s fights are embarrassing,” Taylor said, when asked about the pair of celebrities turned boxers. “Tommy fought a guy with 10 wins and 126 losses – Jake would never fight a guy like that.

“He’s not that skilled. I want what he has; the money, the status, everything.”

Taylor turned pro in 2015, where he lost five of his first seven bouts. He has been on a nice run as of late though, winning five straight bouts, including a win against UFC vet Chris Avila at Bellator 238. Apart from Bellator, he has also fought in various promotions such as BAMMA, Combate and URCC.

Taylor is moving back to boxing, where he only has one professional bout to his name, a four-round split decision loss from 2017.

GSP doesn’t think having a fourth fight with Dustin Poirier is a good idea for Conor McGregor.

There’s a growing list of fighters who believe Conor McGregor isn’t the same fighter anymore, and others that think he isn’t the same promoter either. That now includes the always nice and classy Georges St-Pierre, who thinks the Irish superstar “might have lost some of his ability.”

GSP spoke about his fellow two-division UFC champion, and says McGregor shouldn’t pursue a fourth fight with Dustin Poirier if he returns from injury. He suggests a different opponent where he has a better chance of winning.

“If he comes back… If I’m his manager, I don’t want my client to come back to fight the same guy again for the fourth time. Because now it seems like Dustin has his number,” St-Pierre told MMA Fighting. “He need to perhaps take another fight.

“I think he should comeback and maybe fight Nate Diaz or someone else that has a different style than Dustin Poirier,” he said. “Because styles make fights and I have the feeling that now Dustin Poirier probably has his number right now.

“Conor’s been out for a long time. He needs to get back in there to spend more time in the Octagon, in order to find his own self, the way he moves, and his ability. It seems like he might have lost some of his ability, due to his inactivity.”

McGregor is already back on the bike, and says he’s “ahead of schedule” as he recovers from his broken leg. If he does make a return, there will surely still be some lucrative match ups available to him. Although that likely wouldn’t happen until at least mid-2022, where he’d already be 34-years-old with just one win in almost six years.

Watch footage from Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas.

With Errol Spence bowing out due to a torn retina, Manny Pacquiao returned to the ring against a different opponent in Yordenis Ugas. The Cuban boxer made the most of his golden opportunity, and scored a massive upset in the process.

Ugas, 35, is the younger and more active fighter, as the now 42-year-old Pacquiao competed for the first time in two years. That age and layoff seemed to play a factor as the Filipino legend didn’t look as fast and didn’t react as well as we’re used to seeing.

The bout went the distance, with Ugas looking sharp and picking apart Pacquiao for majority of the fight. Ugas won with the scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112.

Prior to the bout Pacquiao was stripped of his WBA title due to that inactivity, and Ugas was promoted to “super” champion. That belt was on the line, and if you’re one of the few who care about the complicated nature of all these boxing belts, there’s at least a conclusion on who the “real” WBA champ is.

Check out footage from the boxing main event, along with a snippet from our play-by-play of the contest.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugas – Round 12

Is this the final round of Pacquiao’s incredible career? Blocked right by Ugas. Pacquiao got caught by a huge power punch. Ugas really stepping up and landing with as much oomph as possible. Left hand by Pacquiao comes up short. A 1-2 by Ugas. Rare tie-up in this fight after Pacquiao gets clocked again. Uppercut by Ugas. Pacquiao just unable to deal with Ugas’ offense. Under 40 seconds to go. Left hand by Pacquiao. They are going bombs away in the center of the ring. Can Pacquiao pull off a miracle? No he can’t. 118-110 Ugas.

Official result: 115-113, 116-112, 116-112, Yordenis Ugas wins!

Yordenis Ugas def. Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision to retain WBA welterweight title.

Mark Magsayo and Julio Ceja had a back-and-forth bout.

Mark Magsayo made the most of his spot in a high-profile event against Julio Ceja. As part of the undercard of his popular countryman Manny Pacquiao, 26-year-old Filipino remained undefeated, and scored a brutal knockout in the 10th round.

It didn’t come easy though. Magsayo started out strong and got an early knockdown in the first round, but then Ceja came storming back in the middle rounds. He landed dozens of body shots throughout that stretch, including one that dropped Magsayo in the fifth round.

Possibly down in the scorecards at that point — Bad Left Hook had it 85-84 Ceja at that point — Magsayo turned it up and managed to land a crushing straight right hand that put him out cold. It was a particularly nasty looking KO that left Ceja out and motionless for an extended period.

With the big win and new addition to his highlight reel, Magsayo improved to 23-0, and likely earned himself a title bout next.

Watch highlights from the excellent back and forth contest below: