YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul defeats former UFC champ by knockout

Jake Paul
(Image credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul defeated former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in Tampa, Florida, Saturday night, Fox News reported.

The fight ended in a knockout when Paul connected with a hard right in the sixth round.

Paul previously defeated Woodley last summer by split decision but promised Woodley a rematch if Woodley got a tattoo of the phrase "I love Jake Paul." Woodley got the tattoo — on his middle finger. When Tommy Fury, the boxer originally scheduled to fight Paul on Saturday, withdrew due to health concerns, Woodley stepped in.

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"I respect [Woodley] for taking this fight on two weeks' notice, because Tommy Fury is a b---h," Paul said.

Paul remains undefeated. His five professional fights, all aired on pay-per-view, have established him as a bankable star in the boxing world, but, as ESPN staff writer Marc Raimondi observes, Paul's "naysayers" are still quick to point out that he has yet "to fight anyone with real pro boxing experience."

The former YouTuber and one-time Disney star has also faced scandal and criticism in the past, including an arrest for criminal trespassing as well as accusations of sexual assault and of staging a fake wedding for YouTube views.

Michael Kaplan wrote in The New York Post that "everyone want[s] to punch Paul" — and Paul knows it. Indeed, it seems that the widespread perception of Paul as a scumbag and corresponding desire to see him get punched is a major driving force behind his pay-per-view numbers.

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