Tyron Woodley Responds To Accusations Of Ducking Wonderboy

Recently inaugurated UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley laid siege to the crown with a devastating first round knockout against Robbie Lawler. ‘Ruthless’ was unable to exit the first round thanks to Woodley’s ‘Ol’ T-Bomb’ putting his lights out in short order. It took a single well-disguised overhand right to finish Lawler’s stint as champion, and

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Recently inaugurated UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley laid siege to the crown with a devastating first round knockout against Robbie Lawler. ‘Ruthless’ was unable to exit the first round thanks to Woodley’s ‘Ol’ T-Bomb’ putting his lights out in short order. It took a single well-disguised overhand right to finish Lawler’s stint as champion, and with a new king always comes a debate about the next contender. In the case of ‘The Chosen One’ it wasn’t a simple matter of assessing the cavalcade at the top end of the division.

In similar fashion to Conor McGregor, Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping’s recent call outs, Woodley looked for the ‘money fights.’ First calling out Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre, the new champion left one particularly rampant contender snubbed. Stephen Thompson, fresh off wins over former champ Johny Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald, did not even get a sniff in terms of being next in line.

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The acrobatic ‘Wonderboy’ left behind a string of world kickboxing title when he started MMA back in 2010. Thompson was immediately pegged for UFC success when he debuted with a soul-crushing first round knockout of Dan Stittgen in 2012. His decision loss to Matt Brown would be his only defeat to date, and Thompson has since built a seven fight head of steam. Coming of age against MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 89 would surely score ‘Wonderboy’ a shot at the title, or at least that’s what he and his followers believed.

With Woodley’s decision to turn down Thompson has come some serious fire over social media. Check out the comments left on ‘T-Wood’s’ Facebook page before we show the response from the champion:

“Got that belt…now hes afraid to defend it against the number 1 guy. What a punk. Cant avoid Thompson forever.”

“Tyron Woodley Lucky for you the UFC has lost touch with respecting the integrity of the sport. If it really came down to who’s the true best, or even the best challenge for you, Stephen Thompson is it! Duck him all you want, it’s only a matter of time. Enjoy that strap while you have it.”

“You said you are the number one contender for the title fight, and now you say you can pic the fight for entertainment?

WTF stop ducking Wonderboy! He is now the number one contender, just like you when you wanted to fight Robbie !

So fight him!”

Obviously these were the most family friendly comments we could muster up, but you get the point. Taking to his official Instagram account, Woodley sent the following statement to those who are accusing him of being too choosy:

Look who is in the bottom left saying "I Got Next" after @nickdiaz209 beat #PaulDaley I'm not here by accident people. This is by design. Like it or not "I GOT NOW!" You can say what u like but I'm the #Undisputed @UFC Champion Of the World. Deal with it cause I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Funny how fans know exactly who I should fight, and who deserves the next shot. Not to mention selectively chose when you want this to be an entertainment and sport. Please put your work address below so I can show up to your jobs and tell you and your boss if you deserve a raise or who deserves it above you. How you should do your job, and repeat verbatim like a sound bite what I hear others say about you. Comical????????????????! Maybe you should focus on your career cause God got me. #Blessed #UFC #Champ #ChampCamp LINK in Bio!!

A photo posted by Tyron Woodley (@twooodley) on

Earlier this week the recently minted champ accused Diaz of being ‘too high’ to remember why they never fought in the Strikeforce days. He also said the Stockton brawler had ‘talked himself out of seven figures’ when he said Woodley didn’t deserve a fight with him. So it sounds as though it’s GSP or bust for ‘The Chosen One,’ but what if St-Pierre doesn’t come out of retirement?

WoodleyKO'edLawler2
Woodley claims the belt in dominant fashion after knocking out Robbie Lawler in round one at UFC 201…

Money or rankings, which s more important and why?

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Tyron Woodley ‘Can’t Believe He’s The Best’ Without Fighting GSP

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 […]

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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.”

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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:

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.

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UFC Rankings Update: Tyron Woodley Debuts On Pound-For-Pound List

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 […]

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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

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion : Joanna Jedrzejczyk
1 Claudia Gadelha
2 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
3 Carla Esparza
4 Rose Namajunas
5 Tecia Torres
6 Jessica Andrade
7 Joanne Calderwood
8 Valerie Letourneau
9 Maryna Moroz
10 Paige VanZant
11 Michelle Waterson
12 Jessica Penne
13 Jessica Aguilar
14 Randa Markos
15 Juliana Lima

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion : Amanda Nunes
1 Miesha Tate
2 Ronda Rousey
3 Valentina Shevchenko
4 Holly Holm
5 Julianna Pena
6 Cat Zingano
7 Sara McMann
8 Liz Carmouche
8 Raquel Pennington
10 Jessica Eye
11 Bethe Correia
12 Germaine de Randamie
13 Ashlee Evans-Smith
14 Katlyn Chookagian
15 Marion Reneau

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‘Wonderboy’ Thompson On Tyron Woodley: Is This Guy Running From Me?

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 […]

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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.

WonderboyHendricks1In 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)
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.”

Rory MacDonald vs Stephen Thompson‘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.

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UFC 201 “The Thrill And The Agony” Preview Shows Robbie Lawler Is All Class

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JV9dJ4MC-c[/embed]

If you ever wondered what type of person – not fighter, person – Robbie Lawler is, check out this special preview for UFC 201 “The Thrill and the Agony.”

Moments after being knocked out…

UFC 201

If you ever wondered what type of person – not fighter, person – Robbie Lawler is, check out this special preview for UFC 201 “The Thrill and the Agony.”

Moments after being knocked out by Tyron Woodley and losing the UFC welterweight title, Lawler still puts on a smile and offers up congratulations to Woodley’s family Octagon-side.

The complete episode of the series is airing on UFC Fight Pass.

UFC 201 Prelim Rating Numbers Are In

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cAmtJW4Oko[/embed]

The ratings are in for UFC 201’s preliminary card that aired live on FOX Sports 2 this past weekend.

And compared to the rest, they are down.

With the fights being moved from their u…

ufc-201-logo-2

The ratings are in for UFC 201’s preliminary card that aired live on FOX Sports 2 this past weekend.

And compared to the rest, they are down.

With the fights being moved from their usual spot on FOX Sports 1 to FS2, they were watched by an average of 331,000 viewers. That number hit a high of 423,000 during the Nikita Krylov-Ed Herman main event bout.

Airing on FS1, major league baseball was viewed by 386,000 viewers, according to numbers reported by MMA Fighting. The FS2 event was the sixth-most watched one in the channel’s history.