5 UFC fighters who predicted Jake Paul to beat Tyron Woodley

#2. Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington

During a June interview with Helen Yee, UFC's most controversial loudmouth shared his thoughts on Woodley vs. Paul. Colby Covington had an infamous rivalry with Tyron Woodley leading up to their UFC Fight Night 178 clash.

The former ATT standout defeated Woodley via TKO due to a rib injury 'The Chosen One' sustained. Along with sharing his general hatred of Dustin Poirier and advertising an energy drink, Covington revealed he sees a Woodley loss on the horizon.

After brutally ripping on both men, Covington explained he does not see Woodley genuinely losing. Instead, UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman's nemesis believes Woodley will "take a dive":

"I know how struggling Tyron Woodley is for money, he's going to take a dive. It's going to be a work Helen, he's not really going to go fight Jake Paul. They're going to pay him a couple million dollars under the table, he's going to take a dive, take a fall and they're going to hype up this little 'Snake' Paul like he's some great fighter and great boxer."

Curiously, Covington has also opined a Woodley victory in other interviews, making his real thoughts, as always, a mystery.

---

#1. Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya is one of the most prolific strikers in the promotion’s history. Interestingly, ‘The Last Stylebender’ does not have much faith in one of the promotion’s most prolific wrestlers. The middleweight kingpin was recently interviewed by Ariel Helwani for The MMA Hour.

When asked for his thoughts on the upcoming Woodley vs. Paul clash, Adesanya revealed he foresees a Paul victory:

“Jake most likely. Tyron’s just small. Yeah, and I mean, Tyron, on the trailer, they called him an expert striker. I’m like, since when? Expert striker, yeah, I was like, ‘Since the f**k when?’ He’s got a right hand that he, you know, looks for. So, when you have one thing to look for, it’s easier to avoid that. And, yeah, Jake’s big. Jake’s actually a good boxer. So, yeah, if I was gonna bet, I’d bet on Jake Paul.”

Similar to Mousasi, Adesanya believes Jake Paul's strength and respectable skill level will prove fruitful. Despite the power of Woodley's right hand, the anime enthusiast doesn't have much hope for the former welterweight ace's chances.

Adesanya went on to criticize the bet between Paul and Woodley that requires the loser to have the winner's name tattooed on them. UFC's kickboxing king believes Woodley was essentially bullied into taking it and that it's likely he will live to regret it come the 29th.