Tag: Tyron Woodley

Former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley says that while he won’t get reckless in his rematch with Jake Paul, he won’t be “as patient” as he was in their August contest.

After a four-fight losing skid saw Woodley fall from the 170-pound UFC mountaintop to being released from the promotion earlier this year, “The Chosen One” turned his attention to a new combat sports venture. In an effort to avenge his teammate Ben Askren’s first-round knockout loss to Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, the 39-year-old entered the ring with the 24-year-old for what was his professional boxing debut.

Despite his experience inside the Octagon, Woodley was unable to hand “The Problem Child” his first defeat, falling to a split decision loss on the scorecards. He immediately called for a rematch and hoped for a chance at redemption, but it appeared Paul had moved on and would not be looking back at the former UFC star.

That all changed earlier this month when professional boxer Tommy Fury, originally scheduled to be Paul’s fifth opponent, pulled out, citing a broken rib and bacterial chest infection as the reasons for his withdrawal. On two weeks’ notice, Woodley stepped in to save the Showtime pay-per-view card, and secure his chance for revenge.

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Will Woodley Let His Hands Go?

The major factor behind Woodley’s downfall in the UFC was his inability to let his hands go. Many believe that in a tight and competitive fight against Paul, in which Woodley never really looked hurt, the veteran’s struggle to let go played a major part in his defeat to the YouTube sensation.

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Woodley echoed that sentiment. “The Chosen One” admitted he let Paul into the fight by not throwing enough, a mishap he’ll hope to avoid making when the pair run it back on December 18.

“I wanna go out there and just let go. For me, it’s never really been about someone beating me because they’re better, because my time has passed, or because they have better coaching, it’s all just been about me, for some reason, not letting go, and when I let go, nobody can touch me. But I didn’t let go. I let people into the fights that never should have been in the fights with me.”

Discussing what makes a fighter struggle to let go, Woodley clarified that his pursuit of “perfection” has left him far too cautious in recent appearances. Acknowledging the need to make fights “ugly” and tough, Woodley suggested he’ll approach the Paul rematch with a fresh approach.

“Overthinking, overanalyzing. Sometimes you become so skilled and learn so many techniques and defenses and counters, you’re so cautious and you know what could come. You just really wanna be perfect. Perfection, sometimes, gets in the way of mastery, you wanna master it… Sometimes you’ve gotta get a little ugly and grimey, and get in there, maybe get hit a couple times, to put yourself in position to get that opening.”

Addressing his August defeat to Paul, Woodley insisted he wasn’t fearful of the Cleveland native’s power or hesitant to walk him down. Instead, he tried to find the balance between aggression and defense, citing Askren and Paul’s second opponent Nate Robinson as two who didn’t do so. While he won’t be as patient this time, Woodley says he certainly won’t be abandoning his defense on December 18.

“I can say I respected him too much or I can look at Nate Robinson that walked in there and ran into a punch and got smoked. My teammate Ben Askren kinda did the same thing, where his hands wasn’t in the proper position. If he got punching power, no matter who it is… I’m not saying that I was fearful, you saw me walking forward regardless, I got hit with it and I walked forward regardless… I wasn’t scared of getting punched. My training partners punch a lot harder and they’re more skilled than him. I just didn’t wanna be reckless. I think it’s a happy medium, I gotta find a line, you know, not crossing the line and just being reckless and not having my defense, but also not being as patient as I was.”

A defeat to Paul was understandably damaging for Woodley. While he now has the chance to get that loss back, and potentially set up a lucrative trilogy fight, back-to-back setbacks against “The Problem Child” would be catastrophic for the 39-year-old’s standing in combat sports. There is certainly a lot riding on Woodley vs. Paul 2.

Who do you think will have their hand raised on December 18, Tyron Woodley or Jake Paul?

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Won’t Be “As Patient” In Jake Paul Rematch at MMA News.

Despite being offered a $500,000 bonus if he can knock Jake Paul out in their December 18 rematch, Tyron Woodley is after more.

Paul and Woodley met inside the squared circle earlier this year. In their August bout, the YouTuber-turned-boxer further legitimized his venture into the sport by adding Woodley’s name to his undefeated résumé. The former UFC welterweight champion joined former ONE and Bellator 170-pound titleholder Ben Askren as the second combat sports veteran to have failed to outbox Paul in 2021.

While many still slated Paul for not facing a professional boxer, it looked like “The Problem Child” was set to eliminate that argument this month in a match against the younger half-brother of heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury. However, Tommy, who boasts an unblemished 7-0 record in the ring, pulled out just weeks out, citing a broken rib and bacterial chest infection as the reasons behind his withdrawal.

With “TNT” out and the event potentially in jeopardy, Woodley has been granted the chance for redemption he’s called for ever since his split decision defeat to Paul. In a rematch billed as “Leave No Doubt,” the pair will collide in Florida next weekend.

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Woodley Believes He Deserves More

In recent weeks, talk over a potential clause in the contracts of Paul’s opponents that prevents them from knocking the Cleveland native out has become more prominent. In an effort to shut those rumors down, Paul has offered Woodley a lucrative $500,000 bonus if he’s able to secure a knockout win on December 18. But hunting an even bigger bag, “The Chosen One” wants more.

In a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, Woodley suggested he should be receiving a further half-a-million for stepping up on short notice to save the Showtime pay-per-view card.

“We need a new bonus. ‘Keeping the hope alive and the card alive’ bonus. We need to add that too. Might as well say half-a-bag since that’s what we’re throwing out there. Like Dana White said, ‘Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Performance of the Night’ – same thing. So I think we should throw another 500,000 just because all these people would’ve wasted their time, their training camp, their coaches, all these incidentals to train. Tommy Fury would’ve caused all of them not to fight. The venue, the ticket sales, the refunds, the sponsors. So yeah, let’s get another 500,000.” (h/t Sportskeeda)

While it seems like optimistic, who can blame Woodley for shooting his shot for some more cash, especially given the kind of numbers that seem to be prevalent in YouTuber and celebrity boxing matches.

Either way, a knockout victory on December 18 would certainly see the former UFC champ leave the ring a whole lot richer. A loss, on the other hand, would add to the embarrassment of his original defeat to the internet personality.

The stakes are as high and bizarre as you’d expect from tis matchup, although we haven’t heard any tattoos mentioned yet…

Who do you think will have their hand raised on December 18, Tyron Woodley or Jake Paul?

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Calls For A 2nd $500,000 Bonus From Jake Paul at MMA News.