Tyron Woodley 'doesn't care' why Tommy Fury's withdrawal set up his rematch with Jake Paul as he simply wants to inflict painful revenge on the YouTuber.
The former UFC champion swiftly agreed a rematch with Paul after Fury withdrew from a scheduled fight on December 18 due to a severe chest infection and a broken rib.
Woodley suffered a split decision defeat in their first fight in August and believes he should have rightly received a return bout, regardless of whether a replacement was needed for Fury.
"I don't know the circumstances, I don't know his position," said Woodley.
"To be honest, I feel like things happened the way they are supposed to happen. I feel like this is a fight that should have taken place anyway. This is a fight that more people are excited about.
"It's kind of funny that fight was set up for December 18 and more people were talking about a rematch with me and Jake anyway, so I feel things happen in time and on purpose for a reason.
"I never wish bad upon anybody. I don't want anybody to get hurt, so I can step forward. I don't really have much to say about Tommy Fury. I'm not in his camp, I don't really know him, and not to sound mean, I really don't care about his reasoning for not taking the fight.
"I'm just here, ready and willing and trying to go out there and knock his head off."
The YouTuber turned boxer added Woodley to a tally of four victories since turning professional, a result which still infuriates the MMA fighter.
"Very few times you get a chance to go back and redo something," said Woodley.
"Sometimes you sit there and you live with regrets, 'Like damn man, I feel like I won the fight. Maybe I could have done this a little bit differently, maybe if I would have thrown a few more punches here.'
"Now I get the opportunity to go back and undo what was already done, so that's something that drives me without any additional money, any additional sold out crowd.
"The fact that Jake Paul can walk around and say he beat me, just boils my skin and blood and everything inside of my body. I'm trying to go out there and just make it clear that I'm the better fighter, I'm the harder puncher."
After staggering Paul with a right hand in the fourth round, Woodley is confident that he will find a finishing punch in the rematch.
"My prediction is a knockout," he said. "When that happens depends on him, because of how much damage he can take, how much violence he can endure, and the openings.
"I'm not going to just sit here and say I'm going to knock him out in the first round. I'm not going to give away my game plan.
"It's really based upon what I would do if was him. I'm going to make my game plan off that. I don't see him opening up and giving big openings in the first round so I'm going to look for them.
"If they're there, I'm going to take them, but I feel like this fight is going to end in a knockout."