Tyron Woodley has rubbished claims he took a deliberate "dive" during his brutal KO defeat by Jake Paul.
The former UFC champion was brutally dismissed by Paul in their rematch after the YouTube star scored a split-decision victory in their first meeting.
Many fans claimed that the fight was 'fixed' with several conspiracy theories emerging after the bout.
But Woodley has hit out at those claims for the first time since his second defeat by YouTube star Paul.
"That was a mother******* dive but it wasn't on purpose, he hit me with some s***," he told the MMA Hour. "I just feel like be real man people resonate with real.
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"People f*** with realness and being authentic, I beat guys who were always on top and they thought I was going to lose no matter what people throughout me. It is a tough sport, there is only so long you can stay at the top in sport for so long.
"I have been talking to Jake every day we are going to do some business, we were already business partners. He did not pay to let him knock me the f*** out, I never took that amount of money no amount of money could let him say "knock me the f*** out.
"We didn't plan who won and lost but we promote a fight with press conferences that come up and it was a huge show one of the biggest in 2021.
"Why was he the fighter of the year, they give the credit to the other person for his biggest knockout or whatever but that's because of the guy he knocked out."
Woodley had two hugely successful match-ups with Paul with the YouTube star having generated an expected eight-figure payday from both events.
The former MMA star nearly knocked out his opponent in the opening meeting which lead to accusation of fixing including Paul's rival Dillon Danis who claimed there was a 'no knockout' clause.
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In the second fight fans claimed Woodley had deliberately dropped his hand to allow for Paul to score a brutal KO victory.
However Woodley's coach Din Thomas also previously backed up his charge's dismissive response and admitted he would have had the "night off" if it was rigged.
"That whole theory, it makes me laugh," Thomas said. Because being in his camp, I know how serious it was.
"It was serious like Tyron really wanted this win back, he really wanted this fight and it was a serious thing. Now, if it was a dive, I wish they told me about it because I wouldn't have shown up and taken the night off.
"I'd be like partying but that wasn't the case. I mean it was a real, legit fight."