MMA Fighting - Tyron Woodley’s Goal With Jake Paul: To ‘Provide Violence and Damage’

Episode Date: July 16, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley speaks with MMA Fighting's Steven Marrocco to discuss plans to embarrass Jake Paul on Aug. 29, possibly fight an immediate rematch, and then go on a run for a world boxing title. Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two, ghosts in the machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again

with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. It was just another holiday party until Michelle arrived with a chocolate basque cheesecake. Two rich cocoa's caramelized top, which Michelle claimed to have just whipped together.

But the evidence told another story. An empty PC box, a receipt in her purse. All right, Susan, I bought the PC chocolate basque cheesecake. It was just $11. Can you stop true cramming me? Can I have another slice? Try the season's biggest hits from the PC Holiday Insiders Report. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.

How's life as a boxer? Life is a boxer is good. You know, it's some sport I've always wanted to do, a good opportunity to do it against Jake Paul. And, you know, dedicating all the time and attention to boxing is cumbersome. There's a lot to do, a lot to learn, angles, positioning, you know, what punch the win and countering and conditioning. So it's a lot of work, but it's not like jujitsu, wrestling, catch wrestling,

samba, judo, all these different things, you got to put it into one sport that I feel like for me is going to be refreshing for me to, one, I had to cut 35 pounds, two, not have to focus on so many different martial arts and so many different variables. The only thing that can come towards me is a punch. So I'm embracing it, I'm loving it.

And I think overall the blessing in disguise is going to, one, bring my value up and what I'm worth overall anywhere and also make me a better MMA fighter. Do you feel that difference physically, you know, at this point in the training camp in terms of the grind on your body? Yeah, it's tough. It's tough on my calves

because I'm working with two different styles of boxing, the Floyd Mayweather style, working with a guy named Gerald, we call them GT. There's a lot of angles and it's a lot of positioning, a lot of slipping, and it's always punching, but always being ready to counter and punch back with power. And that position in that foot is very meticulous,

they're very, very strict and very, very so much perfectionist when it comes out to it. The Cuban boxing style is a lot about making people pay and making it hurt. But also is very fluid. It's almost like dancing. That's a lot of moving. So my calves are burning a lot from that, live from the running, a lot from, you know, jumping rope. and hitting the bag.

You're on your toes the whole time in mixed martial war. We had an opportunity where we may be static against an octagon or cage wherever you're fighting it. You may have a point where you're on the ground, you know, doing submission stuff, or you may have a part where you actually

letting your legs leave the ground and kick or the knee and boxing your feet are on the ground the whole time. And then for me, I'm not, I mean, I'm built like a running back. So that explosive motion, I'm just, you know, really kind of just honing in on. So that was the most taxing thing on my body the first couple of weeks. But now I'm getting used to it. What about the different sparring?

How much more or less sparring do you do? I sparred a lot of boxing sparring my last fight. So, you know, it's going to be the same. I did a lot of rounds. I was doing, I was sparring eight rounds for my last fight, which was a 15-minute fight. So I was sparring eight just to make sure I did the most. So we started on six at this camp. move up to eight and then just try to make those eight more dynamic where I'm not making mistakes

and I'm punching harder, punching more, and then we're going to push it up to 10 rounds and then move the next week where 10 rounds is why I'm getting the most out of the 10 rounds. So if I can do that for 10 rounds against, you know, world-class strikers, then eight rounds against Jake Paul is going to be a walking apart. So Jake posted a Photoshop of you guys, you and Floyd, outside the Sunny Pastures, we're talking hire him at home. He said, how's Floyd Mayweather, who couldn't even get in shape or come up with the strategy to be my brother,

going to teach another old man how to beat me? Your reaction to that? None. I'm about to say any day. I mean, I can go back and forth and do all the jar jacking, but I'll save it for the press conference. I'll catch him off guard, and I'll hit him with some facts and some shit that is just puzzling. He has this whole thing scripted, all like he's doing what he saw he's doing what he saw floyd do he's doing what he saw

me do he's doing what he saw other fighters do and now he's got an opportunity to to jump into um the sport of boxing and probably even man whatever else he wants to do after this because he has a way of making people give a fuck a way of making people want to see him win or want to see him lose if i had a dollar for every person that told me you oh my guy you got to knock him out every single fucking day, then I would be Elon Musk Jr.

If I had a dollar for every time somebody did that on a day-to-day basis. So for me, it's a mental warfare game. And, you know, I've always been prepared

for these types of press conferences. I've always been prepared for these kinds of opponents. I never got to do it in M. I didn't get to fight the Nick Diaz being the people that actually will lift up a fight. So this is just going to be the MMA fans

and the combat people in general first time seeing me really get a chance to do this. So I'm a saving the Jews for the day. I'm not bothered by nothing he's saying. There's nothing he can do. And even if it was a whole year to get ready to prepare for what I've done, you know, my entire life before professional fighting, before amateur fighting, before even street fighting.

You know what I mean? Just fighting in a house for a slice of pizza. So I've been fighting my whole life. I am a fighter. It's in my DNA. He's an entertainer. fighting is an avenue he's using to get money and to get eyeballs on him, but this is really who I am. How long will you be working with Floyd for the camp? You know, they're invested.

They're invested not just because of, you know, the got-you-hat bullshit because Floyd has always kind of believed in me. He reached out to me long ago. There's been many interviews, many conversations he's talking about me or be training him for MMA or just us collaborating. You may see pictures with us. So he's seen something in me that, you know, a lot of people saw. And at the time, maybe, maybe, you know, I didn't get the push that people thought I should have gotten. But he saw, he said, man, you're smart. You're strategic. And, you know, you can box. He saw that. Even without even seeing me really boxed, like people see me in gym. I'm better in the gym than I'm in fights. So in reality, he's always wanted to help. This just became the perfect.

time and the perfect opportunity that he was able to do so. So he's bouncing back and forth from Vegas to Miami. He does have a coach here. Like I said before, his name is Jero. We call him G.T. He lives here in Miami. He told him, he said, hey, I want you to just counsel all you're traveling. I want you to stay put.

I want you to make sure Tyron got everything he need. And that's what he's doing. So working with Pedro Diaz is going to lead the camp. He's going to be the chief second. GT is going to be obviously a very intricate component. And then my coach Eric Brown from Los Angeles, I've been working on him since 2008. He's the first boxing coach that actually gave me a chance with no boxing coaches wanting to train MMA guys.

You know what I mean? We came in again with tap out charts and wrestling shoes and looking goofy with big, you know, fair tech gloves on. So now it's the point where, you know, I earned that key. I earned their respect from people in the boxing gym as just a great boxer that happens to do MMA. So I'm going to make a run at these belts, these, you know, so many, I don't even know which one you to go after. WBC, I B, B, F, NWA, whatever belt is out there.

You know, I really want to make a real run at a world championship in boxing. So I'm actually training through this Logan Paul, no, Jake Paul, sorry, Logan. Jake Paul fight. I'm training through this fight. I'm training through. We're probably going to fight twice, to be honest. It's a lot. This is going to be the biggest pay-per-view.

And I know you see the UFC even promoting. Ooh, the biggest pay-per-view of the year. It's not. They only doing it because this is the biggest pay-per-view the year. How many times have Connor McGregor been about the fight and me get more attention to him? Yeah.

First time we've ever seen that. So, you know, so I'm excited for this. And I think because of that, I think you'll see us fight a few times. Is there a rematch clause in the contract? Yeah, it's a rematch clause in the contract. So he made a lot of me not accepting some bad. One, you're not in the fucking driver's seat, young man.

you're not for the fucking Sarah and tell me I'll double your purse. You ain't paying my purse. And if you are, shit, pay me double it, double it anyway. If you're a big ball and shot caller, and that's what we're doing. But I just wasn't paying to give him the time of day. It sounded fucking amazing. I kind of kind of kicking myself and I, you know, accepting it publicly where he had to live up to it. But that's just a part of his mind.

I don't think it's really about money for him. I think he's okay financially. I think he's, you know, got a lot of. things that's moving forward where he's making money. I think it's just a buckyless thing for him. And they gassing him up that he's a real boxer and really do it. And, you know, so that's what I think that is. But by him putting the rematch clause in there automatically tells me, one, that he automatically

accepting the fact that he can lose his fight. I'm not accepting that. I'm not even letting the answer my eyes, ears, mind, conversation, my circle. Anybody bringing that up? You are fucking canceled. So for me, the fact that he did that already shows me that, you know, he recognized what I'm capable of and what I can do to him. And then after that, do you have other fights on the contract where you can go and box other guys?

And if so, who are the guys that you want to box? Yeah, I got a contract with myself. It's called Tyron Woodley, the first ever pure free agent in combat sports. I can fight wherever the fuck I want. I can fight who I want, when I want on my terms for the money that I want to make. I can fight in organizations with gloves, without gloves. I can do jiu-jitsu. I can go in Asia.

I can fight here in the States. I can be on any network. I can do whatever I want to do. I'm really going to start my own promotion company. So I can actually start, you know, on the business side, it makes sense for me to start getting a little piece of everything. So I'm going to start promoting myself first. And if I like doing it and it's something I'm passionate about and I'm good at,

maybe I'll entertain promoting other fighters. Do you think that Floyd was more motivated to put his support behind you, given the result of the fight with Logan? I think Floyd just was asked a question on who do he have, you know, if you had the dead. Who are you thinking you're going to retiring or you're going with Logan? I mean, Jake. And he didn't immediately say me. He thought about it and said, you know what? I'm going Woodley.

And I'm going to train him, too. So in addition to saying that he feel I'm going to win, he feel as if, you know, his mindset, his years and years of experience at a very high level and being the greatest defensive boxer. And to many, you know, arguably could be the greatest boxer of all time. You know, he literally said, I'm going to get behind him. I'm going to train him.

I didn't know if it was just going to be for a few Instagram pictures or if it was just to piss off Jake or if it was purely to go out there and have, me beat him for, you know, the disrespect that he felt like he didn't care through Jake. But he told me himself out of his own mouth. He said, I want you to look like a world champion boxer in your first fight. I want everybody be like, oh, my God, this kid is fucking going to be a world champion and boxing.

And when I had the workouts with them, the workouts replicated that, the knowledge that he instill, the techniques, the drills. And don't leave our GT. GT is a, he's going to be the one actually in the corner. He's the one that's, you know, the first guy that's ever signed to Floyd Mayweather in 2000s, Pan Am's, you know, Olympic alternate and trained a lot of guys, Yvante Davis, Adrian Brunner. He's a very, very meticulous, specialist, and perfectionist when it comes to boxing. His skills are beyond measure. So he is, he is the heir of the Mayweather camp. He's the thing that's tapping me in with those guys. And he's going to be there for the fight. So they want to see me do well and they want to support me. And they've always wanted to support me. And this is a good opportunity and it's the first time and just look at it.

I'm in their world. And that's a beautiful thing. I'm very thankful. Shout out to Floyd. His entire camp, the money team. GT for sure. Spending time we worked last night. Phenomenal work training session.

So that's really what it is. It's work. It's not for show. It's not fucking for Instagram. It's not, you know, for views and follows. It's for, it's real deal. And you're going to see more of it. And you've been letting people into your camp every single day.

I mean, I see you go live. Gosh, I think almost every day. It feels like you're doing a live on a live Instagram video. I had been live in so long and I've been so locked into the camp. So I went two days back to back. So it seems as if I go live every day. But I actually been kind of off social media. I post what I post.

I become my own filter if I feel about it. If I feel a certain way about something, I'm posting. If I think some shit's funny, I'm posting it. But I'm not really showing people, I'm not really showing people what I'm doing. I'm showing people the warm-ups. I'm showing people a glimmer because if I show them what I'm really doing, if I really show them in training, I really think this kid going to try to find a way out this fight. I really, that's why I said in the beginning.

I said, no bitch out clause, no bitch out clause. Like, I'm really going to hashtag that because I want to, let the people see that what my mind is at. And when they see, they can't enter into my brain. You know what I mean? It's a fucking possible to do. But they can see how I'm training. They can see me smiling. They can see the work ethic. They can

see the technique, the attention to detail and like, oh, them, Tyrant back. But if I do that, I do feel like, oh, my hymen hurt, my Achilles. Oh, you know, I think he's going to find a way out of it because it's easy for him to make excuse.

He's in a situation where he got nothing to lose. right if you lose to me i'm a five-time world champion fighter and knock a lot of people out he can easily talk his way out of day and we'll still watch him again i'm not in the same position in him i got to go ham on him if i lose he's already trying to paint a narrative i'm a YouTuber and you know vlogger and disney kid and i'm taking on this champion and he's doing that but it's a it's a fight it may not be a first-round knockout you know what i mean but but it's a it's a it's a it's a it's a It's a chess match. And my only goal and my only intention is to embarrass hurt and knock him out.

And that's that's the reality of it. So you said earlier that you're a better fighter in the gym than you are. Yeah, I've always been that way. I've always been that way. And I'm trying to change that. Right. So what are you doing to ensure that you show up when the lights are, where the lights are on? I mean, one thing is the pressure.

the pressure that I've always incurred was one of which I was trying to prove people wrong. So now my intent is way different. It's so clear. I want to maximize. And everything that I do in a gym, I want to actually do in a fight. And my mindset is to prove the people that are training me right. The actual techniques do work. Thank you, Mom and sisters.

And everybody that loves me, I appreciate your support. Now I'm going out of here and win big for us. So that mindset takes a lot of the, pressure off. You know what I mean with the what ifs are erased with preparation and, and, you know, just consistency. So me doing that, I'm just putting myself in position, consistency, work ethic, just choosing to say, fuck it when I'm tired, when I don't feel like it, when I don't feel like getting up, when I'm sore. I just don't have that mindset to take the long breaks and the trips and the vacations and, you know, the fucking listen to the politics

and allow it to affect me. Right now, I got a fresh slate. This is my time to go big again. I've been at the top. You know, I've had a tremendous run in the UFC, and I had a big fall, you know what I mean? Very visible. A lot of people saw it, you know what I mean?

It's like you're falling from the Empire State Building, and everybody who wanted to see you fall, got they finally got what they wanted, and they watch you fall from so far. It takes balls to get back up and start climbing to the top again. And I'm doing that right now. So the things that build me,

the humility, the hard work, the dedication, the stuff that put me in position to be a champion when I got the chance. I'm doing the same things now. So like I said before, I'm not underestimating Jake. Jake's a good fighter.

It's going to look like a fight. I promise you that. It will not look like a UFC fighter picking on a YouTuber. He can fight and he can box and it will look like a fight and it is a fight. Some of these other things that are going on

is great because It's entertainment. Like, come on now. Every UFC fight that we see that's matched up is not the number one contender versus the champion. It's what people want to see. It's what moves a needle. That's why he's in a position to even have this fight because 20 million subscribers and zillions of followers and people that want to see him get beat up or win or lose or whatever the case may be.

He has a wave and that follower of people. That's why he's here. So how can people say this fight shouldn't happen? There's no different than Brock Lesnar's jumping over in the UFC. There's no different in Connor McGregor being out forever and fight whenever he wants to and come back and fight a Donald Soroni, who was not even in position. It was entertainment, and we accepted and we allowed it. So this is the same thing.

It will look like a fight. And I'm okay with that. I don't have to prove, I don't have to go out there. And like, oh, you better not ever hit me one time and I better just smoke him in 30 seconds. No, that's stupid-ass pressure. dude's big he can knock people out whether it was fucking a basketball player or or a world-class fighter that primarily relied on wrestling he can do it you know what I mean and whether someone started you know playing chess or bowling and they learned the skills to box you can't take away

what they've learned so it will look like a fight and my goal is to make it a lopsider role and who from the MMA community has reached out to you in support? I haven't really kind of closed off. I haven't really been talking to a lot of people. It's surprisingly enough, like, let's not get it twisted. It's not like I was paying it out to be some fucking hero before I left. I mean, people respected me on the way out because they saw me come out with fire. Got caught with a shot.

First time ever, I can actually say I got caught with a shot. I was going for the kill. So people respected me for that anyway. You know what I mean? Also, in defeat, I never really, you know, I always gave props where it was due, whether I showed up, whether I was mentally there, whether, you know, all the things I had gone on my life

took away from my performances or not, I still had to give, Ousman came out there and showed up. It don't matter what I was doing, you know what I mean, in my life and, you know, how, you know, I felt about the sport or what the politics did or what my mind was there. or I felt like it don't matter. He showed up.

And, you know, I can't take it away from him. But some people that are supporting Jake, that are MMA. Some UFC fighters or, you know, want to see him win. They have fans of him. They, you know, they think he'll beat me. They think I'm older, like, whatever. And, like, I never once got into the sport. I've never once been in any type of ring or fucking locked in anywhere where a boo

or it sure helped me win. never helped me win, never help me lose. If you support me, I appreciate you, but it's not a necessity for me to go out there and do what I need to do. My favorite question, and I know that it's the fighter's favorite question, whenever I ask it,

do you have any sort of prediction for what's going to happen? I got a prediction that I'm going to walk in there, I'm going to fight him, and I'm going to win. And I don't know what wrong. I know what I can tell you what my intent is, my tendons is hurting him and embarrassing. And my intent is to hurt anything that's put in front of me in any sport in any fucking arena. From now on my, there, there's no point of me going out there and just winning anymore.

Like my whole goal is to go out there and fucking provide violence and damage and hurt people and win in the fashion where, you know, it looks like me and then everybody else. So that's my prediction for the fight. The round, the method. you know, where he lands when he hits the ground, none of that is on the forefront of my mind. I'm just putting myself in position to every chance I get, every opening that's provided, everything he throws, I make a miss.

I'm just looking for the ultimate damage. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.