The current leader of the UFC welterweight rankings, Colby Covington, has claimed that Jake Paul paid his last opponent, former UFC welterweight champion Tyrone Woodley, to hold back on him in their August 29 bout.
Paul took the victory to take his record to 4-0, taking his first non-knockout win by split decision.
The fight took place in Paul’s home state of Ohio, and in the build-up to his fight with Tommy Fury, he has been ‘called out’ by Covington, who branded Paul as ‘Snake Paul’.
The fight’s legitimacy has been questioned by others, who have particularly reviewed the bout’s fourth round, which saw Woodley land an overhand right that sent Paul through the ropes.
Viewers were then frustrated as it appears that Woodley didn’t try to finish Paul off after he had clearly rocked him.
Covington felt that the round was suspicious, and he told MMA News:
"He [Woodley] had him hurt and concussed bad in the fourth [round]. Literally, almost fell out of the ring. And he kind of just held him up. He didn’t try and finish him right there."
He went on to say: "That was definitely a work, without a doubt. You know Tyron Woodley was paid to hold back and not go off on 'snake' Paul."
"So you could tell that Tyrone Woodley was paid to take a dive and it was a work. So not really much you can think about him at work when someone has a bunch of money from YouTube and Disney."
He [Paul] can pay people off and that is what he did.
Covington defeated Woodley in their single UFC meeting, by TKO, after Woodley sustained a rib injury early into the fifth and final round. He claims that Woodley took a ‘dive’, which is an intentional loss, but it is unlikely that Tommy Fury will do the same in his December 18 fight with Paul in Tampa, Florida.
Fury’s father John told YouTuber Rob Moore:
"People think that Tommy’s getting paid to lose, they're joking, a Fury would rather be put to death than down that road."
Tommy is currently undefeated, with a record of 7-0 with four knockouts, but he only defeated one fighter, Jordan Grant, who had more wins than losses at the time of their fight.
Similarly, Paul is undefeated but has only fought debutants.
Fury is currently the oddsmaker's favourite, and he will have his brother Tyson in his corner, who just defeated Deontay Wilder in a legendary fight.