Tyron Woodley is expecting pay-per-view sales for his upcoming fight with Jake Paul to surpass those of past and future combat sports events in 2021.
The former UFC welterweight champion is days away from making his professional boxing debut against Paul, who has gone from infamous YouTuber star to undefeated boxer known to generate a ton of interest in his ventures. The drawing power of his opponent combined with the unknown variables surrounding the fight are the x-factors that Woodley believes will drive an astronomical amount of people to purchase the pay-per-view on Sunday night.
“This will be the biggest pay-per-view of the year,” said Woodley during a media scrum at open workouts. “I said it a long time ago, people thought it was funny. No other fight this year in boxing, in MMA has got more people wondering what the f—k is going to happen. This is that fight. I’m telling you right now: it’s a war.”
The expectation from Woodley is not inconceivable. Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 at UFC 264 this past July is currently the highest selling pay-per-view of the year, with the event reported to have sold 1.6 million buys. Just underneath Poirier vs. McGregor 3 is apparently Paul vs. Ben Askren, which is said to have allegedly sold between 1.2 million and 1.6 million buys. Woodley is already planning on being added to the list of record-breaking buys alongside those events, saying that this fight with Paul is worthy of “breaking the internet”.
A surefire way of breaking the internet is by putting on an unbelievable performance, which Woodley envisions himself doing on fight night.
“All it is, is war,” said Woodley. “Anybody who stood up for anything, it’s war on Sunday. I’m going in there for everybody. Not just MMA. Anybody who [has] fought for anything. I feel like I’m the greatest.”
Paul vs. Woodley takes place on Sunday, Aug. 29 live from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
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