Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley were throwing down in the ring before it came to an abrupt end thanks to the YouTuber’s right hand.
Jake Paul had the last laugh after all.
The YouTube sensation flattened Tyron Woodley with a brutal overhand right, knocking the former UFC star out in the sixth round of their blockbuster fight on Sunday afternoon (AEDT).
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Paul feigned to target the body, then dropped a killer right hand that turned Woodley’s lights out and sent him crashing to the canvas. He remained motionless for seconds before being attended to by medics. He eventually got to his feet, but his day was well and truly over.
“This is as real as it f***ing gets, just like my right hand,” Paul shouted during his post-fight interview. “I told you I was going to f*** him up and I f***ed him up!
“It was a tough fight. I got the job done. I knew it would happen like that. Like a lumberjack. Timber.”
The social media star scored a controversial split decision win over Woodley in their first bout back in August but he didn’t want to leave anyone in any doubt about the result for their rematch. Nobody can question the manner of his victory this time around.
Paul paid tribute to Woodley in the aftermath, praising him for taking the fight on such short notice after original opponent Tommy Fury pulled out with injury.
“This guy (Woodley) is a legend,” Paul said. “Don’t take anything away from his career as a UFC champion. Respect him for taking this fight on two weeks’ notice cause Tommy Fury’s a b***h and he backed out of the fight. This is a real fighter.”
The fight started in uneventful fashion as the fighters seemed more intent on hugging their hatred out rather than doing too much damage with their fists. A “f*** Jake Paul” chant rang out around the stadium as clinches were the order of the day after the opening bell.
It was much of the same in the second round before Paul copped a nasty blow in the third. The referee determined an accidental elbow was to blame for a worrying cut opening up on his forehead as blood gushed out and flowed down his face.
Woodley maintained the rage and showed plenty of aggression in throwing some fierce jabs, but just when it looked like he had Paul on the ropes he eased off, failing to follow-up with the intent needed to do some serious damage.
Things started to drop off in the fourth round, both men clearly feeling the pinch. Woodley was warned for bringing Paul to ground, following a clean uppercut with an illegal takedown that was more at home in a UFC Octagon than the squared circle.
Round five came and went before Paul took his opportunity to end things in the sixth, sparking wild celebrations as he stood atop his corner and gloated about the win that takes him to 5-0 in his professional boxing career.
There were plenty of celebrities in the crowd, and Paul called out a couple of UFC stars when he had the microphone after demolishing Woodley.
“(Jorge) Masvidal and Nate Diaz, you all are some b****es for leaving this arena,” Paul said. “Because I know you don’t want that s**t.
“I’ll take out both of y’all next. Just get out of your contract with Daddy Dana (UFC boss Dana White) and I’m going to f*** them up, too.”
Fight card results
Jake Paul defeated Tyron Woodley via knockout (round six)
Amanda Serrano defeated Miriam Gutierrez by unanimous decision (10 rounds – lightweight)
Deron Williams defeated Frank Gore by split decision (4 rounds – heavyweight)
Liam Paro defeated Yomar Alamo by split decision (10 rounds – super-lightweight)
J’Leon Love defeated Marcus Oliveira via unanimous decision (8 rounds – cruiserweight)
Chris Avila defeated Anthony Taylor via majority decision (4 rounds – light-heavyweight)
Jeovanny Estela defeated Chris Rollins via unanimous decision (4 rounds – welterweight)
How the fight panned out: Round-by-round
Round one
It didn’t take long for a “f*** Jake Paul” chant to ring out at the stadium.
Neither fighter landed many meaningful blows. There were lots of rabbit punches and fighters getting caught in the clinch.
Woodley threw 34 punches in the round — barely any of them effective — but it was still more strikes than he threw in any single round of his first fight with Paul.
Round two
More punches thrown, but there was no shortage of clinches either. They’re trying to be aggressive but neither fighter can get the distance right to land anything of note.
Round three
Woodley landed the most significant strikes of the fight. After an accidental elbow from the UFC star split Paul’s head open, Woodley landed some clean jabs with both hands but didn’t follow-up with any great intent.
Blood was pouring from the bash on Paul’s forehead.
Round four
The pace was slowing down but Paul was knocked down with just over a minute left in the round. After a Woodley uppercut, he went back to his glory days with an MMA-style takedown that had the referee giving him a stern word.
Round five
Similar to round five, nothing major but Paul was more aggressive and landed a couple of more potent punches.
Round 6
Paul lands the killer blow, knocking Woodley out and ending the fight.
Chaos erupts ringside as TikTok stars booted out
Social media stars Kodiyakredd and Flyysoulja — the “Island Boy” rappers — were reportedly caught up in some chaos in the crowd.
Paul enlisted the duo’s help to remix their famous tune and build up some hype for his fight against Woodley but they may have been too juiced up on Sunday.
Seated ringside in Cleveland, other fans in attendance reportedly started throwing drinks at them. Unconfirmed reports suggested they threw things back in retaliation, before being escorted out by security.
Serrano takes the win
Amanda Serrano beat Miriam Gutierrez via unanimous decision in their 10-round lightweight bout.
Both fighters gave it everything, and late in the clash had blood streaming from their faces in what was an epic battle
NFL, NBA star knocked out of ring in boxing barnburner
Fans were baying for blood in the electric four-round showdown between ex-NFL star Frank Gore and former NBA player Deron Williams in what was both men’s boxing debut.
Late in the second round Gore was knocked down and fell through the ropes, out of the ring. Commentators were reminding the pair this was boxing, not the WWE.
Then it was Williams’ turn to get shoved out of the ring, nearly taking a tumble through the ropes too.
“What is going on?” one commentator said.
The pair were throwing haymakers at every opportunity. There was no being cagey and dancing around — it was all about throwing as many punches, as hard as they could, as often as possible.
It was absolutely wild and Williams scored a split decision win (40-35, 38-37, 37-38).
‘Aussie invasion’ in full swing
Aussie Liam Paro made his mark on the undercard, extending his undefeated streak to 22 fights as he overcame Yomar Alamo via split decision.
Two of the three judges favoured Paro’s work in the close contest, awarding him a 95-94, 94-95, 96-93 victory as he made an impressive comeback after suffering a first round knockdown.
Paro wanted to emulate George Kambosos, a fellow Aussie who put America on notice with his incredible win over Teofimo Lopez last month.
“He wanted the Aussie invasion to continue,” an American commentator said.