The ruthless reign of Robbie Lawler as the UFC welterweight champion was brought to a halt at UFC 201 with Tyron Woodley winning via first-round technical knockout.
And all it took was one massive right hand.
Bleacher Report MMA tweeted the official time of the stoppage:
ESPN Stats and Info noted this wasn’t the new champion’s first win by first-round finish:
The two got off to a slow start. Woodley and Lawler spent a good bit of the opening minutes gauging distance with a missed punch and a clinch against the cage that was broken up by the referee.
However, when the two were separated, Woodley struck. Hard.
The former collegiate wrestler loaded up a right hand that put Lawler on the floor and gave him the belt.
Woodley‘s victory as the challenger puts an end to one of the more fascinating title runs in UFC history. Lawler started his second stint in the UFC fresh off a 3-5 run in Strikeforce, but he turned things around to become the champion with wins over the likes of Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit.
Now, Woodley is the latest “unlikely” champion.
T-Wood earned the victory after 18 months away from the Octagon. His last win came over Kelvin Gastelum in January 2015.
The 34-year-old is now the champion, though. It’s a moment he vowed to soak in once it got here, per Jorge A. Mondaca of UFC.com:
I’m really trying to downplay the moment as much as possible, not look at so much social media, not worry about the odds, not worry about making the event, and really just focus on the skill set it takes to win this fight. Then, after the fight, I’ll want to look back and I’ll try to enjoy the moment and the process, all the things that I had to overcome just to get to this point. I’ll sit back for the first time in my career and try to soak it in.
Woodley might not have much time to sit back and enjoy the moment, though. The position of welterweight champion doesn’t leave much wiggle room with title defenses.
The division is stacked with fighters capable of doing damage. A look at the significant strikes that Lawler absorbed in his time with the belt is indicative of that.
Now it’s Woodley‘s turn to face the grueling task of holding onto the belt. And it’ll likely start with a title defense against the red-hot Stephen Thompson.
“Wonderboy” has lit the division on fire while Woodley was away. Since T-Wood’s last fight, he has beaten Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks and Rory MacDonald in convincing fashion. He’s hoping that a fight for the title will be next, per Ryan Gerbosi of Newsday.
“You never know, but I’m putting my foot down, man; I’m getting this next title shot. There’s already talk about it, and it’s what the fans want to see.”
Regardless, the UFC has a new champion in the welterweight division. It’ll be up to him to make sure the welterweight title scene stays just as entertaining and fun as it was with Lawler as champion.
With Thompson in the horizon, it’s a safe bet the division’s title landscape will continue to entertain.
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