It was Woodley’s second defeat in his pro career, both losses during his bouts against Paul with the first ending in an eight-round split decision.
Woodley was given the opportunity for redemption after Paul’s scheduled opponent, Love Island star and professional boxer Tommy Fury, withdrew because of health issues.
Before turning toward a boxing career, Paul had been widely known on social media as a brash and controversial YouTube star, where he has more than 20 million subscribers.
Paul had promised Woodley an additional $500,000 bonus if Woodley was able to knock out Paul during the match.
In 2016, Woodley, also known as “The Chosen One,” won a UFC title and subsequently defended it four times, according to ESPN.
The event included an undercard featuring Amanda Serrano against Miriam Gutierrez, Deron Williams against Frank Gore and Liam Paro against Yomar Alamo.
Fury’s withdrawal was due to health issues
“That went on for about four weeks because I had the mindset of I’m going to keep training, I’m going to get through this, I’m going to have the fight no matter what,” Fury said.
However, after a trip to the hospital, the boxer discovered he had a broken rib and multiple fractures and was advised by doctors and his team to withdraw from the fight.
“Even now sitting here filming this video it hasn’t really sank in that I’m not fighting,” Fury said. “I can’t do anything else apart from getting my body right as quickly as possible and look for a new fight date with Jake Paul. There’s no other fight that I want out there. That’s the fight that I want next.”