Tyron Woodley has heard criticism during his run as UFC welterweight champion. At times his most vocal detractor has been UFC President Dana White.
After Woodley’s decision win over Demian Maia at UFC 214, White spoke out about what he saw as an uneventful contest.
“(If) You ask fans if they want to see Woodley fight again, I think that will be a flat out no,” White said at the post-fight press conference for that July 2017 event. “Who wants to pay to see Tyron Woodley fight again? He’s an absolute physical specimen, the guy could’ve finished the fight at any time he wanted to but, you know, he didn’t want to take the risks. [If] you take no risks, you get no rewards.”
Woodley spent more than 13 months with those words in his head before putting his title on the line against Darren Till at UFC 228 in September 2018.
Somewhat surprisingly, Till, who was 17-0-1 at the time was a -130 favorite over Woodley, who entered the fight on a six-fight unbeaten streak. Woodley was a +100 underdog on fight night.
Woodley was aggressive early. His striking set up a clinch against the cage. The referee separated the two and they worked at distance. Till seemed incredibly reluctant to engage during the first five minutes He attempted just three significant strikes during the first stanza and landed none, while Woodley went 11 for 23 in significant strikes.
Till was a bit more aggressive to start the second round and Woodley capitalized on that, dropping him with a little more than ten seconds ticked off the clock in the second stanza. Once Woodley had Till on the ground, Woodley teed off on Till, landing punches and elbows from inside Till’s guard, opening a nasty cut on Till’s forehead. After the initial flurry, Woodley slowed down and worked to pass Till’s guard while continuing to land elbows and punches. With less than a minute left, Woodley found the space to lock up a D’Arce choke, which Till tapped to at 4:19 of the second round. The submission win was Woodley’s first since he forced a tap from Rudy Bears under the Strikeforce banner in November 2009.
Woodley puts his welterweight crown on the line against Kamaru Usman in the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 235. That event takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before that fight takes place, watch Woodley’s win over Till right here.
