Tyron Woodley can still hear the till ringing.
The former UFC star and boxing newbie may not have achieved the result he hoped for against YouTube star Jake Paul in their ballyhooed eight-round cruiserweight matchup that took place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 28, which Paul won by split decision, but the size of his paycheck has nevertheless left him grinning from ear to ear.
Both Woodley and Paul reportedly earned $2 million each for their tussle. According to Woodley, moreover, it appears they are poised to make another windfall once the pay-per-views have been completely tallied.
“The pay-per-view doing some shit right now,” an ecstatic Woodley said on Instagram Live. “I told you. You motherf-----s laughed at me. Go back to my Instagram. I said this would be the biggest pay-per-view of the year, I said that.
N----s laughed at me, they f------ put clown emojis on me. F------ jokes on you. I don’t know where it’s at right now, but they’re still counting. So I want to thank everyone for buying it, I want to thank them for giving a f---, the promotion for putting the fight together.”
Woodley, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, went on to say that he believes the pay-per-view totals from his fight with Paul not only has a chance of surpassing that of the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition match earlier this summer, but could also end up becoming the fifth highest grossing pay-per-view match in history.
“We are right now right under Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul for pay-per-view [sold]. Still counting,” Woodley said. “If we go over that number, it’s going to be the fifth highest pay-per-view in the history of pay-per-view.”
Mayweather-Paul reportedly generated over one million pay-per-view buys. The fifth highest boxing pay-per-view event belongs to the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis heavyweight title fight in 2002, which reportedly racked up 1.95 million buys.
Although Woodley, a decorated UFC champion in the welterweight ranks, came up short on the judges’ scorecards, he earned the distinction of being the first fighter to take Paul the distance. In addition, Woodley landed some big blows, including a right hand in the fourth-round that knocked Paul into the ropes.
After the bout, Woodley called for a rematch. Paul (4-0, 3 KOs) seemed to be interested in one as well, on the condition that Woodley gets an "I love Jake Paul" tattoo on his body.
Whether or not a rematch materializes, it appears Woodley has every intention of pursuing a boxing career, and, one assumes, another handsome check.
“Part two going to be crazier,” Woodley said. “I kept saying this was a real fight. This was not the TikToker versus the f------ coinflipper. This was two real motherf----s, both punch hard, both got a chin, [both talk a] lot of bullsh!t. Guess what? We’re going to run it back and when we do, we’re going for the record the next time."
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (12)