"I got threatened all my last title fights" - Tyron Woodley dismisses Jake Paul for never experiencing fighter mistreatment himself
Tyron Woodley made more money in his two fights against Jake Paul than he did during his entire reign as UFC welterweight champion. But that doesn't mean he's giving Jake Paul any credit in the latter's quest to improve fighter pay.
On a new episode of The Residency Podcast, Woodley once again lashed out at Paul for positioning himself at the forefront of the conversation on UFC pay.
"If you’ve never been underpaid, you should never be the spokesperson for underpaid athletes," Woodley said. "If you’ve never had adversity, if you’ve never been signed to a promoter that controls your fights, and when you fought and how often you fought, and been threatened if you don’t fight — I got threatened all my last title fights, ‘If you don’t fight, we’re stripping you of the belt. If you don’t fight, we’re kicking you out,’ every time, Darren Till fight, Usman fight, ‘Wonderboy’ fight. But it’s the business."
"He's not the ambassador for fighter pay," Woodley added. "I should be the f***ing ambassador for fighter pay… What he's doing is trying to be a hero."
Watch Tyron Woodley discuss fighter pay below:
Many would consider this a rather unusual argument given the attention Jake Paul has drawn to the subject of fighter pay. Tyron Woodley's bank account is significantly larger because Paul insisted on making sure everyone on his card was making the most money in their career.
As Woodley said, the UFC treated him poorly through his entire title reign but generated very little negative press in the process. With Paul amplifying the issue to his millions of followers outside the combat sports ecosystem, there's a much better chance pressure could generate change.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel defended UFC fighter pay when asked about ongoing criticisms from people like Jake Paul during an earnings call with investors on Wednesday. https://t.co/wivTu0jXHC
Tyron Woodley made over $5 million off his two fights against Jake Paul
While Tyron Woodley's 2021 saw him go 0-3 in combat sports, it was a financially lucrative year for 'The Chosen One.' Woodley reportedly earned $2 million plus a percentage of pay-per-view sales to fight Jake Paul in August.
A second fight in December involved similar numbers, meaning Woodley walked away with over $5 million in earnings.
That's a lot more than Woodley made in his eight years with the UFC, three of which he spent as the welterweight champion. Woodley has defended the UFC's pay in the past, telling Showtime:
"At the end of the day, Dana White and I, you know, we made millions of dollars together, don't get that twisted. Don't think that I didn't make a fortune in the UFC. But at the end of the day, God-willing, it's this time where I'm going to actually get paid where I feel, like at this moment in my life, I'm deserving to get paid."
Tyron Woodley has said he has plans to keep fighting, but no future bout has been announced since his December 2021 KO loss to Jake Paul.
Another angle on that wild Jake Paul KO of Tyron Woodley. Paul knocks every drop of sweat off Woodley's head goddamn #PaulWoodley2
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