Jake Paul will fight Tyron Woodley on Aug. 29.
Jake Paul could’ve just gone on his whole life making videos and not signing up to get beaten up in the ring, but that wasn’t his path. Paul fights former UFC champion Tyron Woodley on Aug. 29, and there’s been high drama about the bout. First off, the loser has to get a tattoo proclaiming their love for the fight’s winner. And recently, Paul’s team apparently talked trash to Woodley’s mother. That’s a no-no. You leave the moms out of it, guys.
Why is this fight even happening? Money, duh. But how much exactly?
Jake Paul told the U.K. Mirror that he is taking a pay cut on the fight in order to pay the undercard fighters more than they’ve ever made before for a fight. Even his opponent, Woodley, will benefit, Paul said.
“It’s coming out of my pockets for sure,” Paul told the Mirror. “Like, directly out of my purse. Everyone on the card is getting the biggest pay-day that they’ve ever had as a fighter and that’s just part of my movement. Look, these fighters deserve more and I want everyone to be excited and I want everyone to know that we as fighters should take care of each other.”
In addition to the Paul-Woodley bout, other fights on Sunday include Amanda Serrano vs. Yamileth Mercado, Ivan Baranchyk vs. Montana Love, Daniel Dubois vs. Joe Cusumano and Tommy Fury vs. Anthony Taylor.
Showtime didn’t respond to a request for comment on how much Paul and Woodley will earn for the fight. One website, Sporting Free, estimates that Paul is guaranteed $1 million, and will double that with his share of the pay-per-view money. Woodley, the site claims, will earn half of that — $500,000 for the fight, and then doubling that to $1 million after pay-per-view money is counted.
Paul fought Ben Askren earlier in 2021. MMA Fighting reported that Paul earned $690,000 for that fight to Askren’s $500,000.
Here are the salaries for #PaulAskren
Ben Askren $500,000
Jake Paul $690,000Ivan Redkach $250,000
Regis Prograis $850,000Frank Mir $350,000
Steve Cunningham $150,000Reykon $80,000
Joe Fournier $220,000Full purse list and story will be up shortly on @MMAFighting
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) April 16, 2021
The money won’t end there. Paul recently signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime, so as long as he’s willing to take the hits, the cash will continue to flow.