Tyron Woodley went through a nightmare when he defended his title against Kamaru Usman. Woodley did not even win a single minute of that fight. Usman dominated one of the best welterweights on the planet, Tyron Woodley for five straight rounds to the point that it was hard to watch. And it was the first time in years since Woodley was handed a defeat in the octagon.
However, Tyron Woodley has claimed many times after that fight that he was just not there in the octagon that night. And it’s hard not to agree with that. We did not see the Tyron Woodley who knocked out Robbie Lawler or who outstrike Stephen Thompson.
Related: Tyron Woodley Claims He Wins the fight against GSP
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After the fight, Woodley received a lot of criticism for investing too much time in matters not related to fighting such as music and movies. In a fan meet and greet before UFC Fight Night 158, Woodley talked about his fight with Usman and slammed the critiques by saying:
“For what happened in the octagon I never make any excuses. But I walked into 4 world title fight with the weight of the world on my back. Personal issues, injuries but you guys never heard that. But the second I out there and fight I am not the characteristic Tyron Woodley that you see, then immediately it’ the music that strikes, it’s the movies that strike. I have been doing that forever. You guys never heard that before.”
Woodley also explained his experience from that fight night and explained what went wrong:
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“For Kamaru Usman skillset wise on paper I am a nightmare for every other day of the week. Something happened when I jumped up and stomped down I think my spirit left my body. But I can give him credit for what he did. he stayed focused, he executed, but we all know that was not Tyron Woodley. It’s just that one of those nights you go close to your opponent and the battery packet gets snatched out of your bag “
However, Woodley seemed confident that he will win a rematch with Kamaru Usman. “We are not going to overly credit Kamaru either,” said Woodley on Usman’s last performance.
Officially Kamaru Usman has no opponents at the moment. He was supposed to fight with Colby Covington at MSG on November 2nd. However, Covington turned that down because he was not happy with the negotiations. Although we can’t expect Woodley to fight Usman at the moment, we can see these two locking horns in the octagon in the near future for sure.
