Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley promised to rid the combat sports world of social media troublemaker Jake Paul, while also avenging the knockout loss suffered by his friend and longtime training partner, Ben Askren.
And let’s not forget his mom’s honor.
Instead, Woodley continued his frustrating no-offense approach to fighting, allowing “The Problem Child” to recover from a fourth-round scare to rack up enough points to escape “Forest City” with a split-decision victory.
Fellow UFC veteran Dan Hardy didn’t mince words when it came to the performance.
“He looked like a sack of shit the other week,” Hardy told Submission Radio. “That was very embarrassing. The reason I’m annoyed about it, is that he validated exactly what I thought was gonna happen, and I expected more from him. Like dude, you’re nearly 40, you’re rap game’s not going anywhere, you’re MMA career’s done, you’ve got a guy in front of you that’s been trashing your mom, that’s been talking a whole heap of nonsense for how many months? And you’ve got eight rounds to punch him in the face and you’re already half punching him through the ropes, and then you don’t put your foot on the gas because you’re afraid of being vulnerable? That just looks weak to me. It looks weak and it wastes people’s money.”
$59.99 each, to be exact.
Shortly after the fight, Woodley demanded an immediate rematch, which may require “The Chosen One” to get a Paul tattoo on his leg. But Hardy insists that Woodley already blew his one and only chance to capitalize on his celebrity boxing opportunity.
“I love all these weird and wonderful fights, but that’s when it runs out of steam,” Hardy continued. “Like, that’s when the fire burns out, is when people tune in and they see that shitshow and they go, ‘oh, I won’t get it next time, because I’ll expect the same thing’. I’d rather watch Askren get knocked out again than watch that. And Askren wasn’t there to win, we all know that. I think what’s even worse is that Woodley was there to win and he didn’t try. And that must burn him. That was burning him in the post-fight interview. He could barely contain himself without calling him out before he finished his interview. It’s like dude, you’ve missed your opportunity, shut the fuck up and sit down and go and find something else to do, because you’ve just had your opportunity and it passed you by.”
Hardy is expected to make his return to fighting at some point in 2022.