Tyron Woodley let me down tonight. He's been a great WW champion with four successful title defenses. Against all odds, without support or real push from the UFC and Dana White. Although I've heard a lot of hyperbole in the other direction. No one, Woodley included, has come close to scratching GSP's legacy at 170. From the onset, T-Wood didn't look right today. He appeared flat. His body language was deflated. Anemic energy. Downright dejected. This is all speculation. Was it delayed effects of the weight cut? Woodley cuts from 205, which is kinda crazy. 35-pound cut to defend his WW crown. Is there personal stuff going on, with family perhaps? Married with four children. You never really know what's going on in the background. Bad case of the flu on fight night? Didn't seem all there from an emotional or mental standpoint.
I'm ready for people to say I'm just making excuses for T-Wood. Here's why I'm not. I can handle one of my favorite fighters losing. It's bound to happen in this sport, and quite often at that. Rarely does anybody keep their zero in the L column for too long. It's more the way Woodley looked in the Octagon that is perplexing me. He looked like a shell of himself, a man that didn't want to be in the cage at all. T-Wood wasn't reacting when Roufus said, "You're down 3-0 on rounds." Or when Din Thomas tried to spark some offense with motivational talk.
Woodley was doing things that didn't make sense to me. He wasn't moving forward at all. Completely ceded Octagon control and ring generalship to Usman right off the bat. It's like Tyron resigned himself to a position with his back against the cage. Usman had no fear or reason to respect Woodley's power. Tyron did not establish the jab or attempt to string together any combos. He's got extremely powerful leg kicks. We barely saw those throughout the five rounds. His vaunted overhand right, only glimpsed on a few occasions. Twice T-Wood went for the guillotine, which failed both times, instead sacrificing positioning to Kamaru. I know he likes that choke and believes in the strength of his arms but come on, man. You should have learned from the first "Wonderboy" fight when you burned out your arms squeezing for a choke that wasn't fully there.
This is the most important part of my post. I was dead wrong about this matchup. I didn't think Usman could strike with Woodley, but he didn't have to. Usman fought brilliantly and smartly. Realized he could walk down Woodley with little repercussion. The standing elbow hurt Woodley and opened him up with a cut. When they traded in R4, Usman was actually winning those exchanges. Short, inside uppercut landed a few times for Kamaru. Wore down T-Wood's body in the clinch with the grinding style he's really good at. I was surprised Usman took Tyron down multiple times, in dominating fashion. I know the "Naija Nightmare" has top-notch wrestling, but Woodley trains with Askren and usually has solid TDD. He's a strong guy that's not easy to bully in the clinch or with grappling. Kamaru was doing a lot of clever little things that Jon Jones is famous for. Foot stomp in the clinch against the cage, subtle shoulder crank, covering the opponent's mouth to disrupt breathing patterns. Usman's cardio was impressive. He was relentlessly attacking T-Wood. On some Cain and Frankie Edgar levels of pressure. The body work was PHENOMENAL. The right hand to the body was punishing. Usman landed that sharp and hard, over and over. If Woodley entered the fight emotionally or mentally drained, the body punches killed him physically.
He'll need to further improve his stand-up moving forward, but Kamaru Usman is a far, far different fighter than the man we saw in his early stages of TUF when ATT faced off against the Blackzilians. Glenn Robinson would be proud, RIP. Colby Covington got a major problem on his hands with this version of "Naija Nightmare" rounding into his prime. A lot different than the 33-year-old RDA that Covington beat in June. Plus Usman already matched that W on RDA in November.
Crib got hyped when we spotted that blonde with the fake knockers behind Colby. Shorty was showin' out on the Vegas strip.
at Cody tonight too. He going to be on the prelims next time he fights. 3 straight fights of just going down swinging and not controlling your emotions.
