During the madness of UFC 205 in New York last night, fans were treated to a thrilling welterweight title clash. Filling the co-main event slot of the evening, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson battled in a ‘fight of the night’ winning war. Their five round classic was fraught with excitement, particularly in round four. Dropping
During the madness of UFC 205 in New York last night, fans were treated to a thrilling welterweight title clash. Filling the co-main event slot of the evening, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson battled in a ‘fight of the night’ winning war. Their five round classic was fraught with excitement, particularly in round four. Dropping Thompson twice with huge punches that would’ve KO’d anyone else, ‘The Chosen One’ found out just how durable ‘Wonderboy’ is. Thompson managed to resist a seemingly tight choke and fought back to arguably win round five.
The contest was close, and many had the bout scored perfectly even after the final stanza. Although Thompson had clearly won three rounds to two, Woodley had scored two knockdowns in round four. Although Bruce Buffer pulled a Steve Harvey and announced the fight a split decision for ‘T-Wood,’ it was in fact a majority draw. Keeping his belt in any instance, Woodley moves on with his title intact.
Adam Hunger for USA TODAY Sports
What’s Next?
Moving forward, there’s a clear argument for these men mixing it up again. Both displayed the ability to beat the other at UFC 205. ‘Wonderboy’ had that crisp and accurate striking, while ‘The Chosen One’ showed flashes of his raw knockout power and explosiveness. Thankfully UFC president Dana White sees it the same way, and tells FOX Sportsthat a rematch between the two will be next:
“You rematch it. It was a draw,” White said at the UFC 205 post-fight press conference. “The fight was ridiculous. It was the ‘Fight of the Night.’ Do it again. That one makes sense. I think it makes sense,”
Move over Demian Maia.
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger for USA TODAY Sports
Woodley vs. Wonderboy 2
With the promotion putting a lot of eggs in one basket at UFC 205, things have actually turned out pretty promising. We already have the exciting prospect of Woodley vs. Thompson 2, Conor McGregor now holds two belts, Yoel Romero became the clear number one contender at middleweight, and Khabib Nurmagomedov could leapfrog Tony Ferguson after his dominant win.
During the UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs. Johnson weigh-in show on FOX Sports 1, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley made a big announcement.
“The Chosen One” told his FS1 co-hosts Karyn Bryant and former UFC title contender Dan “The Outlaw…
During the UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs. Johnson weigh-in show on FOX Sports 1, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley made a big announcement.
“The Chosen One” told his FS1 co-hosts Karyn Bryant and former UFC title contender Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy that despite what many may think, he hasn’t been avoiding a fight against dangerous knockout artist Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Not only is he not dodging the rising contender, he will be defending his newly won UFC 170-pound title against him in his very first defense, which is exactly what most fans thought he was not going to do.
Woodley announced that it will be himself against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson inside the Octagon when it graces the center of the legendary Madison Square Garden arena on Saturday, November 12th in the first-ever UFC event to be held in the state of New York.
Dan Hardy brought up some of the beef that has developed since “Wonderboy” Thompson defeated Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks in his last two fights. “The Chosen One,” never one shy with his words, immediately fired back with the first shot now that the match is official.
“I wanted to call him ‘Wonder Woman,'” said Woodley. “But the inside of me kept it to myself.”
Check out the video of Tyron Woodley’s big announcement from the UFN 94 Weigh-In Show on FS1 on Friday evening below.
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley seems to have opened a huge can of worms. After winning the title by devastating knockout against Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, ‘The Chosen One’ snubbed Stephen Thompson. Looking more towards money fights, Woodley was following the path arguably made popular by the likes of Conor McGregor. ‘Wonderboy’s’ disappointment was
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley seems to have opened a huge can of worms. After winning the title by devastating knockout against Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, ‘The Chosen One’ snubbed Stephen Thompson. Looking more towards money fights, Woodley was following the path arguably made popular by the likes of Conor McGregor. ‘Wonderboy’s’ disappointment was understandable, but the number one contender also stated he was willing to fight again.
Following a period of absence in waiting for the title shot Woodley felt he deserved, it’s interesting that he would turn down Thompson’s challenge. Many fans have levied severe criticism towards the new champ, but he’s not the first to look for these kinds of fights. As mentioned, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has been at it for 10 months now. After winning the 145-pound strap from Jose Aldo, ‘The Notorious’ wondered up the weight classes and may never return. The motivation? $$$.
The Difference
One obvious difference between McGregor and Woodley is the latter will put his tile on the line. ‘The Chosen One’ called out Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre after UFC 201. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, at the very minimum he’s defending his title. At the same time, Woodley’s choice of unranked fighters further pushes the contrast between legitimate sport and entertainment. Moving in to the new era of ownership for the UFC, the coming months could prove pivotal in the sport’s image going forward.
One fighter who is clearly hoping it remains rankings-based is Thompson. Speaking with our good friends over at Submission Radio, ‘Wonderboy’ sounds a little more blunt and less understanding than when this whole saga began.
Wonderboy
“If I could have gone back, or if I could have gotten him in a room with closed doors, I would definitely let (Woodley) know at that time, you’re crazy. When you were a few months ago preaching how you deserve that fight, you deserve the fight, give it to you when you were ranked number FOUR and they still gave it to you. And now you’re doing this to me? It sounds like you’re a hypocrite, man. That’s just crazy talk. It sounds like to me you’re scared. You’re scared to fight me. Let’s do this, let’s go (laughs). I don’t know what else to say without throwing in a few cuss words.”
“Well as hard as he’s fighting it, it does seem that (He’s scared). If it was just the money – and it doesn’t seem like the UFC’s going to give it to him – okay, I’ll fight the number one contender. But now it’s going crazy. Now he’s throwing racism out there and now he’s just kind of going over and beyond of the whole situation, to be honest with you. And yeah man, it’s starting to seem that way. I mean, you’re the champion, you should be taking all newcomers – especially when you just get that belt. You have the belt of for thirty seconds and you’re already shutting me down, asking for a money fight? It doesn’t work that way pal.”
Thompson says Woodley is not McGregor…
“I knew for a fact that he was gonna say, “yeah man, let’s do it. Madison Square Garden, let’s go”. And then he hits me with the, “nah man. You wanted to fight Robbie, so you’re gonna fight Robbie. I’m gonna get a money fight”. I was like, are you…I was laughing, but in my head I was like, is this guy kidding? This guy’s gotta be kidding. You know, I was looking at Cormier and Cormier was looking at me. He’s like, “I’m pretty sure this guy’s serious, you need to go back at him”. And dude, I was like, what the heck, man?”
“It really surprised me. What champion doesn’t accept the number one contender? You know what I mean? That’s just how it goes. You defend that title a few times before you ever starting asking for a money fight. Come on, what’s going on? I mean, you hear Conor McGregor doing that, but Tyron’s nowhere near the level of Conor McGregor when it comes to marketing and popularity. He’s just not there. I think everybody else, the fans see that as well. And it upset not just me, but a lot of other fans and people who follow the UFC too.”
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
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.
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:
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?
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?
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.
![UFC-201[1]](http://cdn.lowkickmma.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/UFC-2011.jpg)
![ThompsonMandelSherdog[1]](http://cdn.lowkickmma.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ThompsonMandelSherdog1.jpg)
