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Update: MMA Fighting is reporting Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley each earned $2 million for their bout last weekend. Here is a full list of purses for the weekend:
Jake Paul: $2 million
Tyron Woodley: $2 million
Amanda Serrano: $75,000 ($3,000 deduction — sanctioning fee for WBO and IBO)
Yamileth Mercado: $45,000 ($2,250 deduction — sanctioning fee for WBO and IBO)
Daniel Dubois: $100,000
Juiseppe Cusumano: $110,000
Montana Love: $60,000
Ivan Baranchyk: $60,000
Tommy Fury: $15,000
Anthony Taylor: $40,000
Charles Conwell: $80,000
Juan Carlos Rubio: $20,000
Update: Though these tweets don’t exactly specific the payday for the folks who took the ring on Sunday night, The Sporting News did reveal that Jake Paul took less money to offer the other fights on the card a record payday. Paul has been on record advocating for increased pay in the realm of combat sports and seems to have put his money where his mouth is for the cause.
Jake Paul is taking less money in his fight vs. Tyron Woodley so others can make more.
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 29, 2021
As a result, everyone on the undercard is receiving a record payday.#PaulWoodley pic.twitter.com/aeMFLSqqWn
The world of boxing has sometimes struggled with relevancy in recent years. There are still plenty of notable fighters like Canelo Alvarez and Tyson Fury, but there haven’t been nearly enough high profile boxers of late.
However, we’re starting to see a bit of a change thanks to social media. Influencers like brothers Logan Paul and Jake Paul have brought new eyes to the sports and goosed PPV numbers accordingly. Regardless of what you think of their boxing skills or intentions in starting fight careers, the Paul brothers have moved the needle for PPV events.
This weekend, we get Jake Paul back in the ring as he slowly increases his level of competition. Paul will face former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley with the bout airing on Showtime and streaming on FITE.tv.
The purse figures for this fight have not been released, but it is rumored Paul will receive $1 million guaranteed plus a share of PPV sales while Woodley will receive $500,000 guaranteed plus a share of PPV sales. Woodley’s manager claims “his base guarantee is in the millions, already.” Make of that what you will.
Woodley’s manager reportedly confirmed that Paul will get the higher share of PPV sales, which makes sense. While Woodley is a draw among the UFC crowd, Paul is the one who will move the needle for PPV sales. In his fight against former UFC fighter Ben Askren earlier this year, PPV buys were reportedly somewhere between 1.2 million and 1.6 million. For a $50 card, that’s between $60 million and $80 in revenue. The fighters’ cuts would come after other money is spread around, but that could have meant Paul brought home an eight-figure pay day.
Woodley is a more prominent fighter than Askren, so it is possible that bumps this up a little further. But even if it does similar PPV numbers, both Paul and Woodley are going to earn significant money. Paul would seem likely to bank another eight-figure pay day while Woodley would make somewhere in the strong seven figures.
This is Paul’s fourth fight and he has yet to fight an actual boxer in his career. His first fight was against fellow YouTuber Ali Eson Gib, his second fight was against former NBA player Nate Robinson, and his third fight was against former UFC fighter Ben Askren.
Paul won all three of those fights by KO or TKO, but on Sunday he faces a legitimate former fighting champion. Woodley has no boxing experience, but he is an experienced striker from his UFC days as welterweight champion. Of course, Woodley is also on a four-fight losing streak. He lost his welterweight title to Kamaru Usman in March 2019 at UFC 235 and has since lost three more fights to Gilbert Burns at UFC on ESPN (unanimous decision), Colby Covington at UFC Fight Night (5th round TKO), and Vicente Luque at UFC 260 (1st round submission).