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 […]
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.
What are your thoughts on the intriguing statement by Tyron Woodley? Let us know in the comments.
The UFC has parted ways with a couple of fighters. In an effort to trim its massive roster, the Las Vegas-based promotion has either released or chosen not to re-sign eight fighters as per MMA Junkie. The most notable name is welterweight Ben Saunders. Competing in his second stint with the UFC, Saunders has had […]
The UFC has parted ways with a couple of fighters.
In an effort to trim its massive roster, the Las Vegas-based promotion has either released or chosen not to re-sign eight fighters as per MMA Junkie.
The most notable name is welterweight Ben Saunders. Competing in his second stint with the UFC, Saunders has had a poor string of results having lost his last four outings, including six of his last seven. His most recent setback came in a knockout defeat to welterweight veteran Matt Brown at UFC 245 in December.
Another name no longer in the UFC is Brazilian heavyweight Junior Albini. Although he debuted in the promotion with a TKO win over Timoth Johnson back in 2017, he has gone on to lose his next four. His most recent defeat was a TKO by Maurice Greene last summer.
He already has his next fight booked, however.
Junior Albini got his first fight booked since his release from the UFC. He is fighting Dritan Barjamaj at #SBC27 in Vrbas, Serbia on March 14th. pic.twitter.com/BQH97AJoRf
Other names released include bantamweight Brandon Davis; welterweight Nathan Coy; bantamweight Jin Soo Son; heavyweight Daniel Spitz; women’s flyweight Kalindra Faria; and bantamweight Grigorii Popov.
Injury considerably dimmed Bellator 112’s star power, with War Machine and Joe Riggs withdrawing from the season 10 welterweight tournament due to injury (as well as Mark Scanlon but he’s not as high profile). We received unheralded fighters Nathan Coy, Cristiano Souza, and Paul Bradley.
Still, the card’s main event featured a featherweight title rematch between champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, making it worth the investment of time.
But was the rest of the card worthwhile? Read our main card recap and decide for yourself.
Injury considerably dimmed Bellator 112′s star power, with War Machine and Joe Riggs withdrawing from the season 10 welterweight tournament due to injury (as well as Mark Scanlon but he’s not as high profile). We received unheralded fighters Nathan Coy, Cristiano Souza, and Paul Bradley.
Still, the card’s main event featured a featherweight title rematch between champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, making it worth the investment of time.
But was the rest of the card worthwhile? Read our main card recap and decide for yourself.
Jesse Juarez vs. Adam McDonough
In the first round, McDonough landed a stiff knee to Juarez’s head after a brief feeling out period. Juarez, however, had presence of mind enough to take McDonough down off the knee strike. After a few minutes, Juarez advanced to mount and nearly secured an arm triangle choke. McDonough defended. The two fighters briefly rose to their feet. McDonough reversed a Juarez takedown and mounted him before transitioning to the back. The round ended with McDonough attempting to lock in a rear naked choke.
The pace was slower in the second round. McDonough again reversed a Juarez takedown and wound up on top, this time in side control. Juarez eventually escaped, and both men resorted to flashy but ineffective striking exchanges. The round ended with McDonough in a sprawl, defending a tepid takedown attempt from a tired Juarez.
The third round was much closer. McDonough landed a takedown early and controlled Juarez on the mat for the first half of the round. Juarez managed to change things though, rising to his feet and then landing two of his own takedowns, after which he nearly took McDonough’s back. He then opted for a guillotine choke, which failed.
Adam McDonough got the nod from the judges in a unanimous decision. He’ll be fighting Nathan Coy (who defeated Paul Bradley in the Bellator 112 prelims) in the next round of the welterweight tournament.
The winner will fight Nathan Coy in the next round of the welterweight tournament semifinals.
Cristiano Souza vs. Sam Oropeza
The fight ended in the first round with KO. Souza botched a lateral drop, bringing Oropeza down on top of him. However, the Brazilian managed to stay calm and rise to his feet…only to be sent to the canvas moments later by a devastating right hook from Oropeza.
He landed a body kick at the start of the fight that floored Burrell. The referee waved it off after a handful of follow-up punches. It was over in under a minute. He’ll be meeting Sam Oropeza in the semifinals.
Daniel Straus (c) vs. Pat Curran
Incredible fight with an incredible finish. After four and a half rounds of back and forth striking exchanges and scrambles on the mat, Pat Curran sunk in a rear naked choke with only seconds remaining in the fight to become the Bellator featherweight champion once again. If you DVR’d the event, you owe it to yourself to watch this fight.
Complete results:
Main Card
Adam McDonough def. Jesse Juarez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sam Oropeza def. Cristiano Souza via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:07
Andrey Koreshkov def. Nah-Shon Burrell via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 0:41
Pat Curran def. Daniel Straus via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 5, 4:46
Preliminary Card
Daniel James def. Erick Correa via submission (strikes) – Round 2, 4:30
Anthony Gomez def. Jason Guida via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Derek Loffer def. Bobby Reradanz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darrion Caldwell def. Lance Surma via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:50
Belal Muhammad def. A.J. Matthews via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nathan Coy def. Paul Bradley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
The UFC has parted ways with a couple of fighters. In an effort to trim its massive roster, the Las Vegas-based promotion has either released or chosen not to re-sign eight fighters as per MMA Junkie. The most notable name is welterweight Ben Saunders. Competing in his second stint with the UFC, Saunders has had […]
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