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#4. Former UFC welterweight fighter Dan Hardy
Dan Hardy ceased fighting for the UFC in 2012. His inactivity in the years since stems from his 2013 Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome diagnosis. Hardy has avoided treatment for the rare heart condition on the grounds that he has never suffered any setbacks from it.
Since then, Nottingham’s premier taekwondo-based cage fighter has made his money as a commentator and analyst. He did so for the UFC for years and more recently has been working at BT Sport among others. During a recent discussion with John Fury and Viddal Riley, Hardy revealed he’s got his money on Jake Paul later this month.
Initially acknowledging that the MMA community would be unhappy with his views, Hardy went on to explain his logic:
“My concern of Tyron Woodley’s gas tank; this is eight rounds. He’s going in there against the guy who’s had three pro fights. Of course, he’s not been fighting world beaters but this- this is Tyron coming towards the end of his competitive career stepping in there with ego, with anger, against a young kid that’s got some experience.”
Woodley has not fought since his UFC 260 loss to Vicente Luque in March. He has not won a fight since his Brabo choke submission victory over Darren Till at UFC 228 in September 2018. With this in mind, Hardy’s comments on Woodley being at the tail end of his career, and likely well past his athletic prime, make sense.
Hardy further acknowledged Jake Paul’s strength and athleticism as key factors. ‘The Outlaw’ does not see Woodley falling by way of knockout the way Ben Askren did. Instead, he believes a Jake Paul decision victory is the most likely result.
#3. Current Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi
Gegard Mousasi fought for the UFC between 2013 and 2017. The UFC is the only major promotion Mousasi has fought for and not won a championship in.
‘The Dreamcatcher’ is the current Bellator middleweight champion and is a former two-division (light heavyweight and middleweight) champion in DREAM, a middleweight champ in Cage Warriors and a light heavyweight champion in Strikeforce.
Often regarded as one of the most underrated former UFC fighters of the past 10 years, Mousasi is adamant that Jake Paul will beat Tyron Woodley. During an interview with Mirror Fighting, the Dutch kickboxing ace dismissed Woodley’s striking prowess, citing him as primarily a wrestler by trade.
Similar to Dan Hardy, Mousasi also cited Jake Paul’s size advantage heading into the bout:
“Who thinks that Tyron Woodley is going to win? It's obvious he's going to get knocked out. Woodley is not a boxer and he's a small guy.” H/t Mirror Fighting
Bellator’s middleweight ace complemented Jake Paul’s boxing skills as well. Beyond Woodley’s ferocious right hand, Mousasi has seen little striking skill from ‘The Chosen One’ over the years.
Treating a Jake Paul victory as a foregone conclusion, the always colorful Mousasi’s views go strongly against the vast majority in MMA right now. He asserted his view on a Jake Paul win in almost every interview he gave on the way to Bellator 264 earlier this month. Mousasi retained his gold against John Slater by third-round TKO at the event.
