Former UFC Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley should think about hanging the gloves. He has had a great career but looking at his last three fights, he looked slow and gun shy. During his prime, he was an explosive fighter that had one of the best takedown defense in the division.
During his championship reign, he was in talks as one of the greatest welterweights of all time. Unfortunately after losing many consecutive rounds, many fans worry about the former champ’s situation.
Could it be because father time caught up to him and he was not the same fighter as he was before. During his defense, his reflexes could even knockdown striking specialist Stephen Thompson and even defend volume takedowns against BJJ Specialist, Demian Maia. That is just how complete Tyron Woodley was when he was the king of the division.
Prior to his loss against Kamaru Usman, he still showcased high-level MMA against then undefeated Darren Till. He landed a well-timed pull counter that knocked Till down where he finished him via D’arce choke.
Another reason would be the competition is just better than it was, Kamaru Usman is one of the most dominant fighters the UFC has ever seen, he has yet to taste a defeat in the UFC and rarely loses a round. Was it because Usman broke him for 5 rounds that made him gun shy in his next two fights.
One of the advices that of his cornermen during his fights is that he never lets his hands go. He has one of the strongest right hands but he rarely throws it. In his fight against Gilbert Burns, when he chose to exchange he got knocked down. In the ground he was dominated basically an even worse beatdown since he got knockdown and out grappled all throughout.
His latest fight against Colby Covington, he looked like he did not even want to be there. His killer instinct and drive to compete is simply gone. He has a tendency of backing up the cage which works in favor of Covington because of his constant pressure.
The fight just ended up Covington’s constant striking, and Woodley just backing up the cage. In the last round, Woodley suffered a broken rib that stopped the fight. He has lost all the rounds since the Usman fight, so he may need to sit down and evaluate the future of his career.
Woodley still has a fight in the works against a tough and durable Vicente Luque in UFC 260. It would be a do or die scenario for Woodley as a lose here would potentially be a career ending fight. Will a fire lit in him or the killer Woodley is just not there anymore. Either way, Woodley has proven to be one of the best welterweights of all time in his prime and should consider retiring if he loses to Luque.
