Former UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, has faced a who’s who of the 170lb elite. He has fought the likes of Karmaru Usman, Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns. However, it is not one of these fighters, nor any of the current ranked UFC welterweights that proved to be Wooodley’s toughest opposition.
In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Woodley discussed who his toughest opponent was, with the answer being a rather surprising one. ‘The Chosen One’ had the following to say:
“The toughest opponent I’ve ever fought was a dude named Nathan Coy. He was actually a teammate of mine at American Top Team. The other guys I fought, I just did not perform, or I backed up too much. Or Marquardt, I was relaxed for one second too long on the cage and he threw me the elbow buffet” (transcribed by Essentially Sports)
“But Nathan Coy, I was there. And I was a 100% and I was going hard and he was going hard. And I threw up so bad after this fight. I was like oh my god it was so hard…. And it was such a close fight, and I barely won it, but I was fighting as hard as I could and he was fighting as hard as he could. And he’s the only one that I’ve ever fought at the level that matched me. Anyone else I fought at 50% or more, I knocked out or beat or snapped them. When people are beating me, I am not remotely where I am supposed to be at.”
Nathan Coy, who went by the nickname ‘Soulforce,’ fought Woodley in 2010. Woodley was able to win via a split decision. Since then, Coy went on to fight in both Bellator and the UFC. He has not fought since 2017 and holds a record of 15-7. Alternatively, Woodley is currently on the worst run of form that he has ever experienced. Back to back losses against Usman, Covington and Burns have seen his stock drop rapidly. However, he currently has a fight booked against Vincente Luque, where he will attempt to get his career back on track.