Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley

Woodley in 2010
Born Tyron Lakent Woodley
(1982-04-17) April 17, 1982
Ferguson, Missouri, United States
Other names T-Wood, The Chosen One
Nationality American
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division Welterweight
Reach 70.0 in (178 cm)[1]
Style Wrestling, BJJ, Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of St. Louis, Missouri
Team Roufusport
Rank Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[2] under Ricardo Libório[3]
Wrestling NCAA Division I Wrestling[2]
Years active 2006–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 20
Wins 16
By knockout 6
By submission 5
By decision 5
Losses 3
By knockout 1
By decision 2
Draws 1
Amateur career
Total 7
Wins 7
Losses 0
Other information
University University of Missouri
Notable school(s) McCluer High School
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Tyron Lanket Woodley (born April 17, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler for the University of Missouri. He is currently signed by the UFC and is the UFC Welterweight Champion.[4]

Early life

Tyron Woodley was born and raised in Ferguson, Missouri, an area a few miles from St. Louis, Missouri. He was born eleventh of the thirteen children of Sylvester and Deborah Woodley. He was raised by his mother after his father left early in his life. In high school he was on the honor roll every term, received All-Conference honors in football, was a two-time state finalist in wrestling finishing 48-0 and winning a state title.[5][6]

After graduating from McCluer High School in 2000, he had offers from Nebraska, Northern Iowa, and Missouri. After going on his recruiting visit to Nebraska, he had verbally committed but later discovered Nebraska's head wrestling coach had been forced to resign. He decided he would attend Mizzou and help rebuild the wrestling team.[7] Tyron Woodley graduated from Mizzou in 2005 with a major in Agricultural Economics.[8] He is a teammate of Current MMA fighter and 2008 Olympian Ben Askren.

Mixed martial arts career

Tyron Woodley got his start after walking into a local MMA gym and asking the owner about participating on the gym's amateur fight card happening in the next month. The owner trained him a little, and put him on the card. The fight lasted 20 seconds with Woodley walking away victorious. He collected a perfect 7-0 record in amateur bouts with all bouts being finished by a KO or submission.

Still an amateur, Woodley attended the open tryouts for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He was one of the final cuts before the show started.[9]

Woodley fought his first professional fight on February 7, 2009, it was held by Headhunter Productions at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri. His opponent was Steve Schnider.[10] The fight streamed live on Purefight.org. Woodley won his second fight by submitting Jeff Carstens.[11]

Strikeforce

Woodley made his Strikeforce debut against Sal Woods in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. He got the spot in the event after calling Robbie Lawler's manager Javier Mendez, whose number was given to Woodley by Lawler at an NCAA wrestling tournament.[12] The fight was at the event Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields on June 6, 2009. Tyron won the fight by submission late into round one. After the win, Strikeforce signed Woodley to an exclusive six fight deal and plan on using him on most of the Showtime cards.[13]

Woodley made his second appearance for Strikeforce on the Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings card. He defeated Zach Light via submission in the second round.

On the Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears card, Woodley had his third fight for Strikeforce, defeating Rudy Bears via arm-triangle submission. The fight was the main event.[14][15] After his win over Bears, Woodley signed on with EA Sports to take part in their upcoming MMA based game, EA Sports MMA.[16]

Tyron won a split decision against Nathan Coy at Strikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs. Casey in Portland, Oregon.

On October 9, 2010, at Strikeforce: San Jose, Woodley defeated André Galvão via knockout midway in the first round. This was Woodley's debut on the main card of a major Strikeforce event.

Woodley headlined his second Strikeforce Challengers event at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine, when he fought Tarec Saffiedine on January 7, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee.[17] Using effective clinch work and take downs, Woodley won the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). After the win, Woodley claimed to be the number one contender for the welterweight title. Strikeforce then signed an extension to Woodley's contract, giving him four more fights and better pay.[18]

During the Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley event Woodley wore a shirt that had the words, "I Got Next", printed on the front implying he was the next to fight for the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship. At Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson, Tyron replaced Evangelista Santos and fought Paul Daley. Woodley controlled the fight with effective takedowns, and according to Compustrike, out struck Daley en route to a unanimous decision win. With the win, Woodley will likely fight for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Championship.[19] “I verged to the left and avoided the iceberg,” Woodley told Showtime Sports shortly after the win. “I knew it was going to be a tough fight.... I knew I had to be slick and get inside of him, he’s strong guy. I couldn’t get frustrated when I didn’t take him down and (I had) to keep going for him. So that’s what I did.”[20]

Woodley fought Canadian prospect Jordan Mein at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine.[21] Woodley won via split decision.

Tyron faced Nate Marquardt on July 14, 2012 at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Championship.[22] He lost the fight via KO in the fourth round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Woodley faced Jay Hieron on February 2, 2013 at UFC 156 in his promotional debut, replacing an injured Erick Silva.[23] Woodley won the fight via KO at just 36 seconds of the opening round.

Woodley faced Jake Shields on June 15, 2013 at UFC 161.[24] The bout was contested on the feet for nearly its entirety in a largely uneventful fight where neither fighter was able to deliver any significant offense. Woodley lost the fight via a controversial split decision.[25]

Woodley next faced off against Josh Koscheck at UFC 167 on November 16, 2013.[26] He won the fight via a brutal knockout in the very first round., after a vicious right hook The win also earned him his first Knockout of the Night bonus award.[27]

Woodley next faced former Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit at UFC 171.[28] In round two, Woodley landed on Condit's right knee on a takedown. The referee stood the fight up for inactivity, and when Condit tried to step away after Woodley kicked his left knee, his right buckled, causing him to collapse in agony and the referee to award Woodley a TKO.[29]

On April 8, 2014, Woodley's new eight-fight contract with UFC was announced alongside with his match against Rory MacDonald at UFC 174.[30] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Woodley next faced Dong Hyun Kim on August 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 48, replacing Hector Lombard.[31] He won the fight via TKO early in the first round.[32] The win also earned Woodley his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[33]

Woodley faced welterweight prospect Kelvin Gastelum on January 31, 2015 at UFC 183 and declined 30% of Gastelum's fight purse for not making weight.[34] He won the fight via split decision thus handing Gastelum his first professional defeat.

Woodley was expected to face Johny Hendricks on October 3, 2015 at UFC 192.[35] It was announced on October 2, 2015 that Hendricks was forced out of the fight due to complications with weight cutting.[36]

After a year-and-a-half out of the Octagon, Woodley faced welterweight champion Robbie Lawler on July 30, 2016 in the main event at UFC 201.[37] He won the fight via knockout halfway through the first round to claim the UFC Welterweight Championship.[38]

Woodley made his first title defense against Stephen Thompson on November 12, 2016 at UFC 205.[39] The fight ended in a majority draw with two judges scoring the fight 47-47 and the third 48-47 in favor of Woodley. However, there was some confusion as the result was initially announced as a split decision victory for Woodley only to be corrected moments later when the decision of a majority draw was announced, albeit with the same result of Woodley remaining champion.[40] Subsequently, both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night bonus awards.[40] UFC President Dana White stated that a rematch between the two will take place at a date TBD.[41]

Personal life

He is married [42] and has 3 sons and a daughter.

He has expressed interest in someday opening up a non-profit facility for troubled youth.[43]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Professional wrestling

Amateur wrestling

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Draw 16–3–1 Stephen Thompson Draw (majority) UFC 205 November 12, 2016 5 5:00 New York City, New York, United States Retained the UFC Welterweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win 16–3 Robbie Lawler KO (punches) UFC 201 July 30, 2016 1 2:12 Atlanta, Georgia, United States Won the UFC Welterweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win 15–3 Kelvin Gastelum Decision (split) UFC 183 January 31, 2015 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Catchweight (180 lbs) bout; Gastelum missed weight.
Win 14–3 Dong Hyun Kim TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le August 23, 2014 1 1:01 Macau, SAR, China Performance of the Night.
Loss 13–3 Rory MacDonald Decision (unanimous) UFC 174 June 14, 2014 3 5:00 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win 13–2 Carlos Condit TKO (knee injury) UFC 171 March 15, 2014 2 2:00 Dallas, Texas, United States
Win 12–2 Josh Koscheck KO (punches) UFC 167 November 16, 2013 1 4:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Knockout of the Night.
Loss 11–2 Jake Shields Decision (split) UFC 161 June 15, 2013 3 5:00 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Win 11–1 Jay Hieron KO (punches) UFC 156 February 2, 2013 1 0:36 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 10–1 Nate Marquardt KO (elbows and punches) Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy July 14, 2012 4 1:39 Portland, Oregon, United States For the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Championship.
Win 10–0 Jordan Mein Decision (split) Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine January 7, 2012 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–0 Paul Daley Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson July 30, 2011 3 5:00 Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States
Win 8–0 Tarec Saffiedine Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine January 7, 2011 3 5:00 Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Win 7–0 André Galvão TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II October 9, 2010 1 1:48 San Jose, California, United States
Win 6–0 Nathan Coy Decision (split) Strikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs. Casey May 21, 2010 3 5:00 Portland, Oregon, United States
Win 5–0 Rudy Bears Submission (arm-triangle choke) Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears November 20, 2009 1 2:52 Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Win 4–0 Zach Light Submission (armbar) Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings September 25, 2009 2 3:38 Bixby, Oklahoma, United States
Win 3–0 Sal Woods Submission (D'Arce choke) Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields June 6, 2009 1 4:20 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Win 2–0 Jeff Carstens Submission (rear-naked choke) Respect Is Earned: Brotherly Love Brawl April 30, 2009 1 0:48 Oaks, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 1–0 Steve Schnider Submission (punches) Headhunter Productions: The Patriot Act 1 February 7, 2009 1 1:09 Columbia, Missouri, United States

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Bully Beatdown Himself Episode: "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming Filming [45]
2016 Sultan himself Wrestler[46]
2016 Kickboxer: Vengeance Filming
2015 Straight Outta Compton T-Bone
2013 Fight Life Himself [47]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Tyron Woodley".
  2. 1 2 "Tyrone Woodley - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Andrew Richardson (July 26, 2016). "Fighter on Fighter: Breaking down UFC 201's Tyrone Woodley". MMAmania.com.
  4. ↑ "UFC Fighter Rankings". Ufc.ca. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Tyrone Woodley Bio". Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  6. ↑ "MUTIGERS.COM Tyron Woodley Bio - Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site - Wrestling". Mutigers.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sherdog Prospect Watch: Tyrone Woodley". Sherdog. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Tyrone Woodley - Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Tyrone Woodley - The Ultimate Fighter Tryouts - Purefight". Purefight.org. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "HP - The Patriot Act". Sherdog. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "RIE 2 - Brotherly Love Brawl". Sherdog. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Tyron Woodley talks history with Robbie Lawler, says UFC 201 matchup not official yet". mmafighting.com. May 6, 2016.
  13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090926190847/http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=mmajunkie-Tyron_Woodley_Strikeforce_Showtime_event&prov=mmajunkie&type=lgns. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ Archived October 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20091018061550/http://mmajunkie.com/news/16504/woodley-vs-bears-and-kaufman-vs-hashi-among-nov-20-strikeforce-challengers-additions.mma. Archived from the original on October 18, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100208221853/http://mmajunkie.com/news/17825/ea-sports-mma-adds-top-strikeforce-prospect-tyron-woodley-to-videogame-roster.mma. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ "Tyrone Woodley vs. Tarec Saffiedine Heads Strikeforce Challengers 13". MMAWeekly.com. 2010-12-06.
  18. ↑ "Tyron Woodley Believes He's No. 1 Contender and on Nick Diaz's Mind". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  19. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110629164315/http://mmajunkie.com/news/24152/paul-daley-vs-tyron-woodley-targeted-for-strikeforce-fedor-vs-henderson.mma. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "Titanic Tyron Woodley Avoids Paul Daley Iceberg, No Boats Sink at Strikeforce". MMAWeekly.com. July 31, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  21. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120103171340/http://www.strikeforce.com/events/2012/01/strikeforce-rockhold-vs-jardine/. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ↑ "Healy-Hirota, Mein-Stinson, High-Moore Added to Strikeforce 'Rockhold vs. Kennedy' Card". sherdog.com. May 30, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Tyron Woodley replaces injured Erick Silva, faces Jay Hieron at UFC 156". mmajunkie.com. January 2, 2013.
  24. ↑ Mookie Alexander (2013-02-27). "Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley planned for June 15th event in Canada". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  25. ↑ "Jake Shields outgrinds Tyron Woodley for upset split". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  26. ↑ Dave Reid (2013-08-22). "Josh Koscheck Faces Tyron Woodley At UFC 167". mmainsider.net. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  27. ↑ Staff. "UFC 167 bonuses: St-Pierre, Hendricks, Woodley, Cerrone win $50,000". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  28. ↑ "Carlos Condit vs. Tyrone Woodley set for UFC 171 in Dallas". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  29. ↑ Gene Mrosko. "Carlos Condit injury gives Tyron Woodley TKO win". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  30. ↑ Mindenhall, Chuck (2014-04-08). "Tyron Woodley inks an eight-fight deal with UFC, faces Rory MacDonald at UFC 174". MMAfighting.com. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  31. ↑ Staff (2014-06-24). "Tyrone Woodley in for Hector Lombard, meets Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night 48". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  32. ↑ Staff (2014-08-23). "Tyron Woodley blasts Dong Hyun Kim into oblivion in just 61 seconds". middleeasy.com. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  33. ↑ Staff (2014-08-23). "UFC Fight Night 48 bonuses: No $50,000 'Fight of the Night' awards". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  34. ↑ Staff (2014-11-19). "Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tyrone Woodley set for co-main of UFC 183 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
  35. ↑ Dave Doyle (2015-08-05). "Johny Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodley set for UFC 192". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  36. ↑ "Johny Hendricks forced out of UFC 192 fight after being rushed to emergency room". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  37. ↑ Nick Baldwin (2016-05-04). "Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley targeted for UFC 201". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  38. ↑ Steven Marrocco (2016-07-31). "UFC 201 results: Tyron Woodley blasts Robbie Lawler to win welterweight title with KO". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  39. ↑ Tristen Critchfield (2016-09-17). "Tyron Woodley to defend welterweight crown vs. Stephen Thompson at UFC 205". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  40. 1 2 Mookie Alexader (2016-11-13). "UFC 205 results: Tyron Woodley retains title with majority draw vs. Stephen Thompson". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  41. ↑ Damon Martin (2016-11-13). "Dana White confirms Tyron Woodley will rematch Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  42. ↑ "UFC Wag Tyron Woodley's Wife!". FabWags.com. May 29, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Mailbag: Woodley on right path". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  44. ↑ "ULTMMA". Ultmma.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  45. ↑ http://spidermannews.com/2016/08/01/ufc-tyron-woodley-spider-man-homecoming/
  46. ↑ Suparno, Sarkar (December 5, 2015). "Salman Khan to fight against UFC fighter Tyron Woodley in Sultan [PHOTOS]". The Times Group. International Business Times. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Fight Life info".
Preceded by
Robbie Lawler		 11th UFC Welterweight Champion
July 30, 2016 – Present 		Succeeded by
Current Holder
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