“I don’t have a prediction for this fight (but) I’m not that confident that Tyron Woodley’s going to pull that one off”.
UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns doesn’t like Tyron Woodley’s chances against Jake Paul on Aug. 29.
Woodley might be the more experienced and technical fighter but Burns thinks ‘T-Wood’ could find himself overwhelmed by the much younger — and larger — opponent on fight night.
“I don’t see any easy fight for Tyron Woodley, and I see the pressure’s on Tyron Woodley. He has to win that fight, otherwise, it’s going to be harder to recover from. So a lot of pressure on Tyron Woodley going into this fight,” Burns said. “I don’t have a prediction for this fight (but) I’m not that confident that Tyron Woodley’s going to pull that one off,” Burns, who recently beat Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision to maintain his position in the top three, told TMZ Sports in a recent interview (h/t BJPenn.com).
“I think Jake’s gotta stay calm, put pressure on him, watch out for that right hand, but at the same time, when that overhand right comes, it opens up a lot of things,” he added. “I would tell him to get a good counter, watch out, keep the left hand up, work a lot, he’s bigger than Woodley so Woodley’s gotta come forward,” Burns said while adding that “anything can happen in this sport. I’m going to watch this one closely — I like this fight.”
Paul, 24, will look to improve his professional boxing record to 4-0 against another former MMA world champion. The YouTube star previously beat Woodley’s friend and teammate, Ben Askren, via first-round knockout this past April but Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champ, represents his toughest opponent to date.
Paul vs. Woodley will take place at a SHOWTIME Sports event on Aug. 29 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.