MMA Fighting has Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury live round-by-round updates for one of the most anticipated boxing fights of the year at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia on Sunday afternoon.
The main event is expected to begin around 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pay-per-view. Check out our Paul vs. Fury results page to find out what happened on the undercard.
Jake Paul (6-0) is competing for the first time this year at the event. Paul is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Anderson Silva this past October.
Tommy Fury (8-0) only fought once last year, earning a win over Daniel Bocianski via points.
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury agreed to a big bet Thursday. Paul will supposedly pay Fury double if Fury gets the win Sunday, but Fury will walk out with nothing if he loses. However, Paul later claimed Fury never signed the new contract.
Check out Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury main event live blog below.
Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is up next.
The fighters are set to make their walkouts.
Tommy Fury first to enter. He’s out to a custom intro featuring Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son.
Jake Paul taking his time entering. The cameras are in his locker room and it looks like he’s still getting ready. All access stuff here, people. Loud boos as soon as his entrance starts.
Paul’s entrance starts off with a collection of sound bites. He’s walking out with energy, certainly more than Fury had. There’s Logan as part of his team. His entrance music is Outlet by Desiigner.
Round 1: Fury with an aggressive start, but Paul is quick to wrap him up and he nearly lifts him over the top rope. That was weird. Paul with lots of head movement and they’re already tied up again. Fury with a jab. Another tie-up. Fury’s jab looking good. Loud “Tommy” chant. Lots of clinching from Paul. Overhand right for Paul, then back into the clinch. Paul advancing with his jab but not landing much. Jab to the body by Paul, Fury answers with one up top. A brief exchange closes the round.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Fury
Round 2: Paul shaking his arms loose. Fury circles and jabs. Glancing right to the body by Fury. He’s in and out. Good jab by Fury. Paul whiffs on an overhand right. Paul tries to corner Fury, but he eats a counter punch. Paul with a left hook. Another sharp jab by Fury. Fury clips Paul with a straight right. Paul blocks a left hook. He misses with a right, but lands a jab. Paul with a good jab now. Both fighters miss with big shots. Paul sneaks in a left hook.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Paul. Overall, 19-19
Round 3: Jab from Fury as Paul swings wild. Glancing left by Paul. Paul pushes Fury to the ropes, another tie-up. Fury hits Paul with a jab. Paul answers with a jab of his own. Fury sticking with the jab as Paul hunts with his heavy right hand. Fury connects with a jab. Left hook by Paul lands. There’s a good right by Paul. Paul backs Fury up with a jab. The round ends with Fury throwing punches off of a clinch.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Paul. Overall, 29-28 Paul
Round 4: Fury establishing his jab. He lands a right and chases Paul. Combo from Fury, Paul defending well. Right hand lands for Fury as Paul enters. Fury in pursuit. Paul fires a left hook to slow Fury. Fury doubles up on a jab. Fury fighting confidently with his hands low. He’s scoring, but Paul gets his attention with a big punch. Fury wins an exchange of jabs. Fury catches Paul with a punch to the back of the head as the round comes to a close. Paul looks annoyed, but nothing comes of it.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Fury. Overall, 38-38
Round 5: Paul working to establish the range with a long jab. Fury scores with a jab. Jab from Fury, he takes a Paul right hand and walks through it to land a good 1-2 combination. We have a pause in the action and Paul has been penalized a point for holding the back of Fury’s head. The action resumes and Paul lands a left that hurts Fury. Fury recovers quickly. Fury lands a right on an advancing Paul. There’s a 1-2 by Fury.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-8, Fury. Overall, 48-46 Fury
Round 6: Paul opens the round with a left hook. Fury catches him with a short shot as they clinch against the ropes. Fury lands an uppercut. Another uppercut by Fury. Solid jab by Fury. Fury opening up. The referee talks to both fighters about the clinching. Now Fury gets a point deduction for excessive grappling? Body shot by Fury.
MMA Fighting scores the round 9-9. Overall, 57-55 Fury
Round 7: Fury with sharp counters on a charging Paul. Paul lands a jab but can’t get anything going off of it, which has been the story of the fight for him. Left hook lands for Fury. Good jab by Paul and Fury circles off of the ropes. Fury rips the body. Paul keeps ducking into Fury’s left hand. Combination by Fury and Paul ties him up. Big volume from Fury in this round. Fury catches Paul with a right hand. Fury steps in to score with a jab.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Fury. Overall, 67-64 Fury
Round 8: Paul just lunging in and looking for that right hand knockout. Fury scores with counters, but Paul lands a stiff left that has Fury touching canvas. That’s a knockdown! Fury back at it quickly. Right scores for Fury. Paul just rushing in and Fury sends him back with a combination. Jab by Paul, but Fury answers with heavy shots. Paul connects with a right. Another separation by the ref. Fury misses with a big right hand and we’re going to the bell with the fighters tied up once more.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-8, Paul. Overall, 75-74 Fury
Official decision: Tommy Fury def. Jake Paul via split decision (74-75, 76-73, 76-73)
Fury and Paul very respectful to each other after the decision is read.
Fury talks about how hard it was dealing with all the injuries and adversity he faced trying to get this matchup put together. He dedicates the win to his daughter Bambi.
“I had a vision I would win this fight and no one believed me.” Fury says. He says that the “Diriyah Championship” belt he has over his shoulders was like fighting for a world title. Asked about Paul’s rematch clause, Fury says he’s open to it if that’s what Paul wants.
Paul: “All respect to Tommy, he won. Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses. I’ll come back. I think we deserve that rematch. It was a great fight, a close fight. I don’t know if I agree with the judges. I got at 10-8 round, twice. ... Look, I’ve already won in life. I’ve won in every single way. I have an amazing family, amazing friends. I made it farther than I ever thought I would and beyond. This is definitely a humbling experience. I’ll take it on the chin, get back in the gym, and we can run it back, because I think we put on an amazing show for the fans tonight.”
Paul mentions that he was ill and had an arm injury, but doesn’t want to make any excuses for his loss. “I’m just saying, it wasn’t my best performance. I felt a little flat.”
“One hundred percent, let’s run it back,” Paul says.
