Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC Vegas 11 ended its most recent run at UFC APEX last Saturday night (Sept. 19, 2020) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Gerald Meerschaert, who was knocked out in just 17 seconds by Khamzat Chimaev (see it here). And Randa Markos, who was submitted in the first round by Mackenzie Dern (highlights).
But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Tyron Woodley.
Coming into his fight against Colby Covington, “The Chosen One” had plenty riding on the line. For starters, he desperately wanted to silence “Chaos” for the non-stop trash talk he spewed over the last few years. Furthermore, he was coming in with two straight shutout losses, so a win was of the utmost importance.
Unfortunately for Woodley, things got worse before they had a chance to get better. Indeed, for 20 minutes, Woodley was once again dominated for the majority of the fight. To make matters worse, he broke a rib, which ultimately ended up being the reason he gave himself up in the fifth and final frame, though he was clearly on his way to another shutout loss.
Over his last three losses, Woodley simply hasn’t popped off any offense … not even a little bit. In fact, the former 170-pound champion has been out struck 724-192 in his three defeats. That’s an incredible stat to say the least.
Let’s give credit where credit is due: Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman and Covington did tremendous on their part, but Woodley has simply looked like a deer caught in the headlights in his three defeats. And that’s not me clowning on him, I’m as baffled as everyone else is at the ex-Welterweight champion’s shocking decline.
His loss to Covington was a real eye raiser because you would think that if there was a fight that he’d be up for — one that would motivate him to channel his inner-beast— it would be one against Covington, the man he’s had nothing but bad things to say about for three years now.
But it didn’t … not one bit.
As for what’s next for Woodley, there is no telling where his head space is at, but losing three in a row for anyone, much less a former world champion, isn’t a good thing. And if Dana White had his say, “T-Wood” would be thinking about hanging it up.
“I think he should start thinking about hanging it up. He’s had a great career. He’s made his money,” Dana sad during the post-fight presser. “We all get old, man. This happens to the best of us. Woodley’s had a good career. He’s been a champion. He’s been around awhile. He had a good run in Strikeforce, too.”
Whether or not Woodley is thinking the same unclear at the moment. If he does return to action, hopefully it’s not after he takes a nice break. He needs to get back to basics, back to the drawing board and regroup instead of rushing back and running the risk of losing his fourth straight.