5 most hard-hitting analyses for Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley

Jake Paul will return to action against former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on Sunday, August 29, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jake Paul will be looking for his fourth straight victory after dismantling his first three opponents. Meanwhile, Woodley is out for redemption after suffering four consecutive losses on his way out of the UFC.

Needless to say, there's a huge level of excitement surrounding Sunday's Showtime pay-per-view event. Some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts hopped on the hype train by sharing their predictions and breakdowns. On that note, here are the five most hard-hitting analyses for Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley:

#5. MMA analyst Dan Hardy

Dan Hardy believes Tyron Woodley's power will be the difference-maker. [Photo via @danhardymma]

Former UFC welterweight and MMA analyst Dan Hardy believes Tyron Woodley deserves more credit as a striker than people have been giving him. As such, the retired British fighter believes that Woodley's one-punch power and sheer desire to win are enough to earn him the victory over Jake Paul.

"Tyron Woodley is a puncher; we know this," Hardy said. We've seen it several times in the octagon. Obviously, four-ounce gloves and boxing gloves are different but if he lands with that kind of force, he's gonna hurt somebody."

"What we have to do with MMA fighters, we have to break them down into what percentage of their skillsets take up. We talk about Ben Askren – way more than 50% of his skillset is wrestling."

"Tyron Woodley is less than 50% a grappler, I would say now. He's far more of a striker than anything else. He's got hand speed; he's got power; he's in great shape, especially at his age. And he's gonna look at Jake Paul and find opportunities to find his way around those punches."

Hardy is also of the belief that Woodley will not suffer the same fate as Ben Askren (lost to Jake Paul via TKO) despite comparisons the two are drawing from each other. Hardy continued:

"The difference between Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley as well is there's an ego in place. Ben Askren wasn't bothered. He wasn't bothered about getting knocked out. He was only bothered by the money that landed in his bank account the next day."

"Tyron Woodley's ego is on the line here, which makes it far more interesting. He's got all other things going on. He's got his record label; he's got his rap game. He has a load of things going on around him and everything hinges on him having a good performance."

Official Pick: Tyron Woodley

#4. UFC commentator Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan says Tyron Woodley will be Jake Paul's toughest test yet

UFC commentator and popular podcaster Joe Rogan recognizes that Tyron Woodley is a less experienced boxer than Jake Paul. However, Rogan believes that Tyron Woodley's championship pedigree makes him the most dangerous opponent Jake Paul has ever had. According to Rogan:

"I know he can punch. He punches really hard, but he doesn't punch like a boxer. He throws big bombs and sets up takedowns. But he can crack, though. With one shot he can f*** anybody up. But the thing is: the way he throws shots, he'll throw like a bomb and then set up a takedown or set up a clinch."

"He's not a guy going out there with a peek-a-boo style, throwing jabs and hooks to the body. That's not his style. He's never been a guy who boxed. He's been a guy who uses boxing in MMA but he uses everything."

"The thing about it is that he'll be the most dangerous guy Jake has ever fought, for sure. Not even close; no one is more dangerous than Tyron Woodley. Tyron is not just an MMA fighter. Tyron is a UFC world champion and one of the best welterweights of all time. If you look at all the UFC welterweights of all time, he's top three."

However, Rogan is aware that success in the octagon doesn't necessarily translate to success inside the squared circle. Rogan added:

"But that doesn't necessarily mean that he wins. And I think Jake Paul can box. If you look at that Nate Robinson fight – and I know Nate Robinson didn't know what he was doing – but the way he landed those punches. He cracked him, knocked him out moving backwards. He can move backwards and then plant."

Official pick: Undecided

#3. Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping believes Jake Paul has the tools to beat Tyron Woodley

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping could see the fight go either way. However, 'The Count' believes mental toughness will determine who walks away on Sunday night with the victory. As far as Bisping is concerned, Jake Paul appears to be the fighter who's in a better headspace.

"What Tyron Woodley are we gonna get? This is what it all comes down to. I say it all the time but this is a physical sport. The mind controls everything. Where is Tyron Woodley's mind?"

"On the flipside, we know where Jake Paul is. Jake Paul is undefeated. He's young; he's rich; he's got everyone swinging off his nuts. His confidence is through the roof, he just knocked out Ben Askren in his last one."

"Tyron Woodley, I don't know. He's saying all the right things. When you see the interviews with him, when you look at him on Instagram and you see the training footage, he seems to have the correct approach. I don't know that Tyron wants to use this as a springboard to become a full-time boxer."

Bisping concluded that as much as he wants his fellow MMA star Tyron Woodley to prevail, all signs are pointing toward a Jake Paul victory.

"So he's saying all the right things, doing all the right things, but he has also lost his last four in a row. He's also pushing 40. Jake Paul is 24. He's taller, he's got the longer reach; he's hungry and he's undefeated. Yes, he's only had three but still he's undefeated. He feels like he can't be beaten. And Tyron Woodley? Well, he knows he can be because he has in his last four professional fights."

Official pick: Jake Paul

#2. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya sees Jake Paul winning through using his size advantage

Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya gave a breakdown of Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley on his YouTube channel. 'The Last Stylebender' enumerated the keys to victory for both competitors. However, Adesanya sounded like he's more confident about Paul's chances of emerging victorious.

"If Jake Paul is gonna win, what he should do, like I said, he's crazy," Adesanya said. He's already playing little games with Woodley along the way, which is fun to watch. He's like a troll; he's trolling him. He can play of that a little bit if he knows how to."

"It's easy to do it outside the ring, but then when you're in a fight, it takes a skill – a skillful personality to be able to play off the investments when you already planted something on his head. Cash out on it."

Adesanya also pointed out that Paul's size advantage could play a huge role in how the fight unfolds. The Kiwi fighter added:

"Also he has to use the long game. He's a big boy. He's 6-foot-1 and Tyron is 5-foot-9. So yeah, he needs to use the size, use his reach. He's got a longer reach than him, 76 inches to (Tyron's) 74."

Official pick: Jake Paul

#1. UFC welterweight star Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal thinks Tyron Woodley will knock Jake Paul out

UFC welterweight star Jorge Masvidal supported Jake Paul during his fight against Ben Askren. However, 'Gamebred' recently hopped off the Jake Paul bandwagon and pledged his allegiance to Tyron Woodley.

The two-time UFC welterweight title challenger doesn't only think Woodley will win, but he also boldly predicted a knockout in favor of 'The Chosen One.' Speaking with Ariel Helwani on an episode of The MMA Hour, Masvidal said:

“So it’s not to diss Jake, but you’ve been watching MMA for a minute. Woodley can throw them hands. Ben Askren never could. So it’s like you’ve got a guy that can fight if it’s slinging fists. Woodley could have made his money grappling, which he did. He was good enough of an athlete, and he was good enough of an athlete to make his money with his hands to knock people the f*** out."

“So I don’t think – I know Jake’s never been in there with a guy like that, that’s explosive, is a good athlete, and has a ton of experience over him. So if Jake wins, f***ing wild, my hat’s off to him, I was wrong, I don’t know s*** about fighting. But, chances are, Woodley’s going to knock him the f*** out.”