It wasn’t the pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event that most fight fans expected after Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was scratched because of COVID-19, but former 170-pound roost-ruler, Tyron Woodley, is no stranger to headlining major events. Indeed, “The Chosen One” was back in action tonight (Sat., March 27, 2021) at UFC 260, which took place inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, against bonus-winning machine, Vicente Luque.
Woodley has been gun shy since dropping his belt to Kamaru Usman, losing two consecutive bouts since that time. If anyone was capable of squeezing some violence out of Woodley, it seemingly was the aggressive Luque, winner of two straight finishes.
And he did just that, wading into dangerous waters, eating Woodley’s power shots and then dropping and stopping him in the first round.
Woodley actually came out throwing a huge haymaker, which missed, but he used it to press Luque up against the cage. Luque was able to quickly reverse him along the fence as Woodley wrapped up his arms with underhooks. The pair eventually separated and made it back to the center of the Octagon, where Woodley started to let his heavy hands fly. Luque closed the distance and wrapped him up, landing some short shots to Woodley’s mid-section up against the cage. Woodley pushed him off and then started swinging big shots once again. Woodley was landing, but Luque was game — returning fire in kind. He connected a big shot and Woodley was wobbled. He almost went down as Luque continued to fire bomb him with heavy shots. He was essentially out on his feet as Luque tossed him across the cage. Woodley grabbed onto the fence for support and the referee looked like he wanted to stop it, but the two continued to trade shots. Woodley was wounded — and probably still out on his feet — but he was throwing heat in desperation. His momentum spun him to the ground, where Luque carefully angled for a d’arce choke without Woodley even really knowing what was going on. Eventually he figured out what was happening, but but that time, it was all over. Luque locked it in, squeezed and Woodley had no choice but to tap rather than nap.
Props to Woodley for going for it — he had Luque wobbled. But Luque was just too much in the end. Fun fight!
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