Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley retained his crown as the UFC’s welterweight champion over the weekend in a chess-like rematch against No. 1 ranked, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
The rematch between Woodley and Thompson proved to be nearly identical to the first match at UFC 205, lasting all five rounds. Both fighters set a strategic pace, spending the majority of the match dancing with each other, but landing a few good hits throughout.
During the third round, "The Chosen One" executed an Olympic-caliber double-leg takedown and whaled on "Wonderboy" while keeping his opponent on the ground for the majority of the round.
Thompson remained cautious of Woodley’s power during the rest of the match. He landed some expert karate kicks which accounted for some of his 53 significant strikes, according to the UFC statistics.
During the fifth and final round, Woodley landed a hard one-two combination, knocking Thompson down and nearly ending the fight with some hard face punches. And it looked as though the referee, John McCarthy, may have been ready to step in and stop the fight.
But "Wonderboy" showed respectable heart and resilience and lasted until the end of the round.
As both fighters displayed patience and respect for the other’s abilities, the crowd grew restless, booing and chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Woodley said he didn’t care if the crowd was booing because he knew what was on the line, the welterweight belt and, he wasn’t going to disrespect the unique striking style of Thompson.
The judges scored the fight as a majority-decision for the champion, Woodley.
“I know this is a sport where you guys love to see knockouts, you love to see gore,” Woodley said in the UFC post fight conference. “Guess what, I love being the world champion and sometimes it’s not the sexiest fight.”
Wonderboy received the championship title fight after a seven-fight winning streak and the first match draw. The fighter said he hopes he can get another title shot without having to start from scratch.
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“I can see myself fighting for that title again. I’m not giving up.” Wonderboy said at the
The fight of the night at UFC 209 may have been the co-main event in which Lando Vannata battled against David
Both fighters showed impressive speed and accuracy with their striking abilities. Teymur used his traditional Muay Thai style to land a total of 90 significant strikes over
The match showcased lashing kicks and fast punches to the body and face by both fighters, but it was Teymur who emerged with the win.
Lando “Groovy”
MMA enthusiast and fans may wonder who will be next challenger to the reigning welterweight champ, now that the No. 1 ranked contender failed. Hopefully, that fight will be lined up soon.
Next up for the UFC will be a battle of the light-heavyweights when current champ Daniel Cormier defends his belt against number 1 ranked, Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 on April 8.
Robert Salas is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com.
