UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington isn’t a big fan of the upcoming Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Paul boxing match, saying that his former rival is more than likely going to throw the fight in order to make easy cash.
The boxing bout between Woodley and the younger Paul brother was announced earlier this week, after weeks of speculation as to who Paul would face next after his first-round knockout of Ben Askren. Woodley will be making his boxing debut after a long tenure in the UFC that included his reign as welterweight champion.
Covington doesn’t have much faith in Woodley, his former nemesis in the octagon. He defeated Woodley by TKO at UFC Vegas 11 and thinks that he not only won’t be able to defeat Paul, but he won’t be showing much of an effort to win at all.
“Make no mistakes – Tyron has a great legacy, but he’s picking these fights with guys that are kind of toward the end of their career,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “
“But they’re doing this on purpose, and I really think Tyron is going out there to take a dive. I think he’s broke. He needs the money. So I think he’s just going to go out there and take a dive. So this little side circus they’re doing with Jake Paul, of course, they’re going to favor his way to make it a work.”
Woodley is making his transition to the boxing world after losing his last four fights in the UFC, including a loss to Covington following his title loss to champion Kamaru Usman. Woodley also lost his last UFC fight in the octagon at UFC 260 against Vicente Luque by submission.
Woodley and Paul have a history stemming from their heated locker room altercation just before the Askren bout. The two squared off in a heated faceoff yesterday in Miami to promote the August 28th fight.
Covington is suspected to be the next title challenger to Usman later this year, but nothing is official just yet. He’s been on a long hiatus since his win over Woodley last Fall.
Do you agree with Colby Covington that Woodley vs. Paul will be rigged?