Wonderboy was at a loss for most of his UFC 205 title fight with The Chosen One.
The co-main event for UFC 205 did not disappoint. Not in the slightest.
Tyron Woodley was brought to the brink by Stephen Thompson yet responded magnificently well, almost finished the challenger off in the fourth round and held onto his belt after a majority draw. Two judges felt the fight was even while the third went for Woodley.
Many people, including noted pundits and current fighters, found it hard to go against Thompson and the former kickboxing champion started as the betting favourite. The champion put his head down and trusted the hard work he had put in beforehand.
Woodley opted to back up to the fence to cut off a couple of avenues of attack from Thompson. In an interview with The MMA Hour, the welterweight champion claims he may well have punched his opponent back into consciousness.
Woodley revealed just what he was telling Wonderboy in the Octagon:
“I stole his leg kicks. How many leg kicks did he land on me? He landed three or four leg kicks and one little, snappy body kick. Outside of that, I was prepared. I was calling his kicks out to him
“I was saying, ‘I know what you’re about to do. You’re about to throw that wheel-kick, aren’t you?
“He said, ‘Actually, no, I was going to throw a one-two high kick’.
“I said, ‘You throw that kick, I’m punching you’.
“I said to him [next], ‘Oh, you about to blitz. Remember the last time you blitzed? I knocked you down with that right hand. You come in again, you know I’m going to hit you with that right hand.”
Woodley says both men had fun in the Octagon and enjoyed their epic bout as martial artists.
He believes he is ready to go again at UFC 207, on December 30, and is willing to fight Demian Maia next. After that, he has no qualms about taking on Thompson again and would not say no to a fight with Conor McGregor.
