"He just doesn't seem confident" - Darren Till is 'worried' that Tyron Woodley might 'take a dive' in his boxing showdown with Jake Paul
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley holds the distinction of being the first fighter to defeat Darren Till in a professional MMA bout.
At UFC 228 back in September 2018, Woodley successfully defended his UFC welterweight title with a second-round submission win over Till.
Darren Till eventually moved up a weight class and is now a top-tier contender in the UFC middleweight division.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour hosted by Ariel Helwani, Till was asked about Woodley’s upcoming professional boxing match against Jake Paul. He responded by stating:
“Tyron Woodley beat me fair and square. Am I a better fighter than Tyron? Yeah, I truly believe. You know, I’m gonna keep stamping my name. But he beat me fair and square. And just, I’m very, very worried that like, he’s getting paid a large amount for taking, like, a dive or something. Very worried about that.”
“I don’t know. Listen, yeah and no. I don’t think so. But, just, I don’t know. He just doesn’t seem confident, like confident. I don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t commentate. I don’t know enough about; I don’t know how powerful Jake Paul is, with his team. I don’t know, mate. I just know that if Woodley wants to beat him, he can beat him. It’s simple. I’m not throwing hate at Jake Paul. The guy looks like he can box and looks like he’s training hard. So, you know, I don’t know. I don’t know.” (*Video courtesy: MMAFightingonSBN’s The MMA Hour; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Darren Till also suggested that he isn’t too bothered by the fact that Jake Paul is earning a significant amount of money and is making moves in the fight game.
Darren Till vs. Derek Brunson and Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Paul
Darren Till holds the No. 7 spot in the UFC middleweight rankings, while his upcoming opponent Derek Brunson sits at No. 5.
Till will be looking to continue his path towards the UFC middleweight title by beating Brunson at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till on September 4th, 2021.
Meanwhile, Jake Paul is scheduled to fight Tyron Woodley in a professional boxing match. The Paul vs. Woodley matchup will headline the fight card that’ll take place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 29th, 2021.