For the UFC’s champions, the last nine months have been like a game of Russian Roulette, but perhaps with more than one loaded chamber. Since Holly Holm brutally dethroned Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 on November 15, 2015, six other heavy underdogs have become UFC champions. Call it the Rousey Curse. Not every titleholder who went […]
For the UFC’s champions, the last nine months have been like a game of Russian Roulette, but perhaps with more than one loaded chamber.
Since Holly Holm brutally dethroned Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 on November 15, 2015, six other heavy underdogs have become UFC champions. Call it the Rousey Curse. Not every titleholder who went down has disappeared as completely as the “Rowdy” one has since her loss, but many have been finished in just as grisly a fashion. The next champion who goes into his or her title defense as more than a slight favorite has to be sweating bullets.
Only two champions have defended their straps as more than 2-1 favorites since that November night in Australia. The first was Rafael dos Anjos. The Brazilian whipped a kick into Donald Cerrone’s liver, and followed up by pummeling “Cowboy’s” face until he could do nothing but cover up.
The second was Demetrious Johnson continuing his run at Anderson Silva’s consecutive title defenses record. “Mighty Mouse” styled on his latest challenger, Henry Cejudo, tenderizing his body with clinch knees until the former Olympian cried “Uncle”.
Other than those two instances, however, every other champion who was expected to walk through his or her challenger has been bounced from the mountaintop in shocking fashion. This piece ranks the championship upsets that have occurred since Rousey tumbled from her throne.
Hardly five days after he won the UFC welterweight title with a shocking first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler at July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Tyron Woodley is causing quite the shakeup at the top of one of the most talented divisions in fighting. ‘The Chosen One’ famously called out for a fight with Nick […]
Hardly five days after he won the UFC welterweight title with a shocking first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler at July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Tyron Woodley is causing quite the shakeup at the top of one of the most talented divisions in fighting.
‘The Chosen One’ famously called out for a fight with Nick Diaz, or even better yet, all-time great former champion Georges St. Pierre, after his title-clinching win despite there being a clear-cut top contender in the form of Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
Amidst never-ending rumors of his UFC return, ‘GSP’ was quick to turn around and accept the fight, and Woodley reiterated that he’s already spoken to the legend during a recent episode of his aptly-named podcast ‘The Morning Wood’ (via FOX Sports):
“I’ve already spoken to the lineal champion, the No. 1 welterweight, the pound-for-pound one of the greatest in the sport. His interest is fighting me,” Woodley said. “Georges St-Pierre wants to fight me. And guess what? I want to fight him. There’s honor in it. If I’m going to put it on the line, risk it, I want to know that I at least had the opportunity to prove to myself that I am the best welterweight to ever grace the damn Octagon, and if he’s going to give me that chance, I can give a hell less.”
It’s understandable as to why Woodley would want to test himself against the man who many feel is the greatest welterweight, and the trend of fighters looking for big paydays with top-selling names shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point. Yet with Thompson on an impressive seven-fight win streak and St. Pierre having been out of the game since his highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013, it’s also impossible not to wonder if ‘Wonderboy’ is clearly the best choice here.
That’s not how Woodley views it, however, as he insists his employers will agree to his title fight against St. Pierre:
“Georges St-Pierre definitely wants to fight me. I’ve had a conversation with Georges St-Pierre. He’s interested in the bout, and we’re going to make the bout happen.”
Woodley then appeared on last night’s UFC Tonight to reaffirm his belief that he simply cannot call himself the best welterweight in the world without having faced the legend who never lost his belt:
.@TWooodley: “I can never walk around with this belt and believe I’m the best WW on Earth if I haven’t competed against @GeorgesStPierre“
Again, an admirable goal to be sure, but if the bout does get signed, fans – and Thompson – are going to be angered by the outcome. ‘Wonderboy’ has argued that St. Pierre wouldn’t provide as much a challenge because he simply hasn’t fought in three years, and in a sense, he’s right.
There are also the impactful roadblocks of St. Pierre’s hardline stance against PED use, which is obviously being curbed in at least some capacity by the recent rash of USADA busts, and his big-money contract with Under Armor that conflicts with the UFC’s highly-criticized Reebok sponsorship deal.
No matter what fight gets booked, one thing has become clear: for a champion who supposedly can’t sell a pay-per-view on his own, Woodley is certainly dominated many of MMA’s headlines as of late.
Thanks to wins at UFC 201, Tyron Woodley and Karolina Kowalkiewicz each moved up in the latest UFC rankings.
Hear from Forrest Griffin and Matt Parrino as they break down all the ranki…
Thanks to wins at UFC 201, Tyron Woodley and Karolina Kowalkiewicz each moved up in the latest UFC rankings.
Hear from Forrest Griffin and Matt Parrino as they break down all the rankings in this report.
Woodley is the new top man at welterweight after winning the title with a first round knockout of Robbie Lawler, while Kowalkiewicz climbed to No. 2 at strawweight following her win over Rose Namajunas.
While nothing is official regarding the rumored Octagon return of Georges St-Pierre, if he does come back, he’ll be a betting favorite — even against the top dog in his former weight class of 170-pounds.
Respected MMA oddsmakers Bovada.lv set their…
While nothing is official regarding the rumored Octagon return of Georges St-Pierre, if he does come back, he’ll be a betting favorite — even against the top dog in his former weight class of 170-pounds.
Respected MMA oddsmakers Bovada.lv set their opening lines for the rumored GSP vs. Tyron Woodley UFC Welterweight Championship match this week.
St-Pierre opened as a -150 betting favorite for the potential fight, while the current champion Woodley is set as a +120 underdog.
After Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 this past Saturday to claim the 170-pound title, he made it clear that he wants “money” fights. GSP was later contacted by MMAFighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani, and told him that he was, in fact, interested in a title fight against Woodley.
As expected, the official UFC rankings got a huge shakeup at 170 pounds following Tyron Woodley’s thunderous first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., July 30, 2016) UFC 201 pay-per-view (PPV) from Atlanta, Georgia. Woodley debuted at No. 10 on the pound-for-pound ranks, dropping Lawler a massive eight spots […]
As expected, the official UFC rankings got a huge shakeup at 170 pounds following Tyron Woodley’s thunderous first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., July 30, 2016) UFC 201 pay-per-view (PPV) from Atlanta, Georgia.
Woodley debuted at No. 10 on the pound-for-pound ranks, dropping Lawler a massive eight spots to No. 12. Daniel Cormier also rose up two spots to No. 3, pushing the temporarily suspended Jon Jones down to No. 4. Champions Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Eddie Alvarez, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Stipe Miocic up one spot each.
The win pushed “Ruthless” down to the No. 1 spot at welterweight, forcing perceived top contender Stephen Thompson, former title contender Rory MacDonald, and Demian Maia all down one spot each. After previous No. 9 Matt Brown lost to a vicious first-round body kick from Jake Ellenberger, ‘The Immortal’ dropped three spots to No. 12, raising Rick Story, Dong Hyun Kim, and Gunnar Nelson one spot each to the Nos. 9 through 12 spot.
‘The Juggernaut’ re-debuted on the rankings at No. 15, auspiciously three spots below the man he just demolished in the first round.
The only other division that saw significant shakeup was women’s strawweight following Karolina Kowalkiewicz’s upset win over former No. 3-ranked Rose Namajunas. Kowalkiewicz rose three spots to No. 2, while Namajunas went down one spot to No. 4. Carla Esparza also dropped one spot to No. 3, and Valerie Letourneau traded spots with Maryna Moroz at the Nos. 8 and 9 spots.
Check out the full updated rankings from UFC.com below:
POUND-FOR-POUND 1 Demetrious Johnson 2 Dominick Cruz 3 Daniel Cormier 4 Jon Jones 5 Conor McGregor 6 Jose Aldo 7 Eddie Alvarez 8 Joanna Jedrzejczyk 9 Stipe Miocic 10 Tyron Woodley *NR 11 Michael Bisping 12 Robbie Lawler 13 Rafael Dos Anjos 14 Luke Rockhold 15 TJ Dillashaw
FLYWEIGHT Champion : Demetrious Johnson 1 Joseph Benavidez 2 Henry Cejudo 3 Kyoji Horiguchi 3 Jussier Formiga 5 Ian McCall 6 Wilson Reis 7 Zach Makovsky 8 Ali Bagautinov 9 Louis Smolka 10 John Moraga 11 Matheus Nicolau 12 Dustin Ortiz 13 Justin Scoggins 14 Ray Borg 15 Sergio Pettis
BANTAMWEIGHT Champion : Dominick Cruz 1 TJ Dillashaw 2 Urijah Faber 3 Raphael Assuncao 4 Bryan Caraway 5 John Lineker 6 Aljamain Sterling 7 Michael McDonald 8 Cody Garbrandt 9 John Dodson 10 Thomas Almeida 11 Takeya Mizugaki 12 Eddie Wineland 13 Jimmie Rivera 14 Johnny Eduardo 15 Frankie Saenz
FEATHERWEIGHT Champion : Conor McGregor 1 Jose Aldo (Interim Champion) 2 Frankie Edgar 3 Max Holloway 4 Ricardo Lamas 5 Cub Swanson 6 Charles Oliveira 7 Jeremy Stephens 8 Dennis Bermudez 9 Brian Ortega 10 Hacran Dias 11 Darren Elkins 12 Dooho Choi 13 Yair Rodriguez 14 Tatsuya Kawajiri 15 Mirsad Bektic
LIGHTWEIGHT Champion : Eddie Alvarez 1 Khabib Nurmagomedov 2 Rafael Dos Anjos 3 Tony Ferguson 4 Nate Diaz 5 Edson Barboza 6 Donald Cerrone 7 Anthony Pettis 8 Dustin Poirier 9 Michael Chiesa 10 Michael Johnson 11 Beneil Dariush 12 Will Brooks 13 Al Iaquinta 14 Gilbert Melendez 15 Rashid Magomedov
WELTERWEIGHT Champion : Tyron Woodley 1 Robbie Lawler 2 Stephen Thompson 3 Rory MacDonald 4 Demian Maia 5 Carlos Condit 6 Kelvin Gastelum 7 Neil Magny 8 Johny Hendricks 9 Rick Story 10 Dong Hyun Kim 11 Gunnar Nelson 12 Matt Brown 13 Tarec Saffiedine 14 Donald Cerrone 15 Jake Ellenberger *NR
MIDDLEWEIGHT Champion : Michael Bisping 1 Luke Rockhold 2 Chris Weidman 3 Jacare Souza 4 Vitor Belfort 5 Anderson Silva 6 Robert Whittaker 7 Gegard Mousasi 7 Lyoto Machida 9 Uriah Hall 10 Derek Brunson 11 Tim Kennedy 12 Thales Leites 13 Dan Henderson 14 Rafael Natal 15 Yoel Romero *NR
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT Champion : Daniel Cormier 1 Jon Jones (Interim Champion) 2 Anthony Johnson 3 Glover Teixeira 4 Alexander Gustafsson 5 Ryan Bader 6 Ovince Saint Preux 7 Mauricio Rua 8 Rashad Evans 9 Jimi Manuwa 10 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 11 Nikita Krylov 12 Corey Anderson 13 Ilir Latifi 14 Patrick Cummins 15 Gian Villante
HEAVYWEIGHT Champion : Stipe Miocic 1 Fabricio Werdum 2 Cain Velasquez 3 Alistair Overeem 4 Junior Dos Santos 5 Ben Rothwell 6 Andrei Arlovski 7 Travis Browne 8 Brock Lesnar 9 Mark Hunt 10 Josh Barnett 11 Derrick Lewis 12 Roy Nelson 13 Frank Mir 14 Stefan Struve 15 Ruslan Magomedov
The UFC’s welterweight division is as scrambled as any other division in the promotion today, as newly crowned 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley is calling for ‘money fights’ against Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz following his first round obliteration over former champion Robbie Lawler this past Saturday night (July 30, 2016). One man left waiting in the […]
The UFC’s welterweight division is as scrambled as any other division in the promotion today, as newly crowned 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley is calling for ‘money fights’ against Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz following his first round obliteration over former champion Robbie Lawler this past Saturday night (July 30, 2016).
One man left waiting in the dust amongst Woodley’s campaign for a big payday is No. 1-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who feels he has earned his shot at welterweight gold after defeating both former champion Johny Hendricks and top contender Rory MacDonald in dominating fashion.
In a recent interview with FOX Sports, ‘Wonderboy’ shared his thoughts on ‘The Chosen One’s’ current quest for a matchup with Diaz or ‘GSP’:
“What’s going through my mind is ‘what is this guy talking about?’” Thompson said. “I mean he just got the title and he’s already talking about a money fight and trying to choose his opponents.
It just doesn’t make sense for him to win the title and then start asking to face guys who haven’t fought in over a year or even three years.
Fight the guy who deserves it. Fight the guy standing right in front of you. Fight the guy who is the legit No. 1 contender. That’s me.”
When asked if he believes Woodley could be potentially running from him, Thompson had this to say:
“It’s starting to get that way, it’s starting to get that feeling,” Thompson said. “At first, I didn’t think so, I thought he just wanted the big payday, the big money, but when I go back and look at the facts — the fact is I’m on a seven-fight winning streak.
He was ranked No. 4 and they gave him the title shot. I’ve cleaned out the division for him. It just doesn’t make sense why he wouldn’t face me, at least one time against the No. 1 contender without having to go out and pick these guys who haven’t fought.
When I go back and look at the facts, I’m thinking to myself — is this guy running from me? I don’t know.
I know he’s not scared of any opponent. I don’t think he is, but I would like to get in his head and see what he’s thinking. Why does he think he can do this? It’s just a fact.”
ATLANTA, GA – JULY 30: Tyron Woodley celebrates his knockout victory over Robbie Lawler in their welterweight championship bout during the UFC 201 event on July 30, 2016 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Thompson claims Woodley got an opportunity at the title even though some may not have thought he deserved it, he also states that the new champion is taking an opportunity away from him that he’s earned after taking out the cream of the crop at 170 pounds:
“This is my chance and he’s just taking it away from me,” Thompson said. “The UFC and Robbie gave him his chance even though a lot of people didn’t think he deserved it.
Now that he is (the champion), why can’t he give the rightful guy his chance?
For him to just get the belt and start asking for money fights? Come on, man. You need to defend the title one or two times or three times or maybe four times like Robbie before you’d ask for a really big money fight.
You just get it and then asking for it? I was kind of laughing in my head like what is this guy talking about?”
Until UFC brass tells him otherwise, Thompson is preparing for a showdown with Woodley and with the ideal location of Madison Square Garden in mind. If ‘Wonderboy’ does get his long awaited shot at UFC gold, he believes he can put the newly-crowned welterweight champion’s lights out with a bang:
“Tyron’s the guy I’m facing. That’s what I’m prepared for mentally until the UFC says otherwise,” Thompson said.
“I’ve got a great management team, Paradigm Management, and they know what I want and they are working and supporting me to make that happen.
“Until we get anything, I’m preparing for Tyron. Madison Square Garden’s where it’s going to be at. That’s a big fight.
He’s looking for money. That’s going to be probably the biggest card of the year. I think we could put some butts in the seats.”
I can put him to sleep,” Thompson said. “I’ve shown that with all my fights. I know I can put him to sleep. We face off, he’s going to get the best Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson the UFC has ever seen.”
‘Wonderboy’s’ body count during his UFC run has been quite the eyebrow raiser and it’s hard to deny the undefeated kickboxing stud a shot at the welterweight crown, however, with the possibility of a ‘GSP’ or Diaz return to Octagon it certainly puts a strain on his chances.
In a recent interview with 
‘Wonderboy’s’ body count during his UFC run has been quite the eyebrow raiser and it’s hard to deny the undefeated kickboxing stud a shot at the welterweight crown, however, with the possibility of a ‘GSP’ or Diaz return to Octagon it certainly puts a strain on his chances.