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Details hand injury
Woodley disclosed Monday on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that it was a hand injury that forced him to withdraw from the UFC Minneapolis main event on June 29.
ANALYSIS
Woodley claims to have originally suffered the injury in his September 2018 matchup against Darren Till, when his thumb inadvertently clipped the skull of Till and seemed to pop out of place. He describes it as a "state of dislocation" ever since, meaning that he took his March title defense against Kamaru Usman at less than 100 percent -- a fight he went on to lose by unanimous decision. Despite having CMC joint repair, Woodley noticed the issue begin to resurface during training in early-May, and ultimately elected to give the injury proper time to rehab, as opposed to rushing into another fight. He's uncertain if his next opponent will still be Lawler, the individual he originally took the belt from back in 2016.
Woodley claims to have originally suffered the injury in his September 2018 matchup against Darren Till, when his thumb inadvertently clipped the skull of Till and seemed to pop out of place. He describes it as a "state of dislocation" ever since, meaning that he took his March title defense against Kamaru Usman at less than 100 percent -- a fight he went on to lose by unanimous decision. Despite having CMC joint repair, Woodley noticed the issue begin to resurface during training in early-May, and ultimately elected to give the injury proper time to rehab, as opposed to rushing into another fight. He's uncertain if his next opponent will still be Lawler, the individual he originally took the belt from back in 2016.
Pulls out of UFC Minneapolis
Woodley withdrew from UFC Fight Night in Minneapolis on Friday due to an injury, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Woodley was scheduled to take on Robbie Lawler in the late-June bout, and the specifics surrounding his injury are currently unknown. The UFC is looking for a replacement in an effort to keep Lawler on the card.
Woodley was scheduled to take on Robbie Lawler in the late-June bout, and the specifics surrounding his injury are currently unknown. The UFC is looking for a replacement in an effort to keep Lawler on the card.
Set for Fight Night in Minneapolis
UFC President Dana White told Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com that Woodley and Robbie Lawler will headline UFC Fight Night at Minneapolis on June 29.
ANALYSIS
Woodley lost the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 235 earlier this month as he was thoroughly outclassed by Kamaru Usman in a unanimous decision. Lawler lost to Ben Askren via a controversial submission at the same event, so both fighters will be looking for a bounceback performance. The bout is a rematch of the 2016 title fight at UFC 201 in which Woodley won the 170-pound belt. The 36-year-old previously indicated he would move up to middleweight by the end of 2019, but his resounding loss to Usman may have caused a change of plan.
Woodley lost the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 235 earlier this month as he was thoroughly outclassed by Kamaru Usman in a unanimous decision. Lawler lost to Ben Askren via a controversial submission at the same event, so both fighters will be looking for a bounceback performance. The bout is a rematch of the 2016 title fight at UFC 201 in which Woodley won the 170-pound belt. The 36-year-old previously indicated he would move up to middleweight by the end of 2019, but his resounding loss to Usman may have caused a change of plan.
Drops UFC Welterweight Championship
Woodley lost his UFC Welterweight Championship to Kamaru Usman on Saturday, falling via unanimous decision (44-50, 44-50, 45-50) at UFC 235 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Losing is one thing, but not being the least bit competitive is another story entirely and Woodley looked baffled and disinterested on Saturday night. To say he had zero answers for everything the challenger threw at him would be the understatement of the century. His coaches asked Woodley for more in between every round and the former champion never answered the bell. Tyron entered with the best takedown defense in UFC history (north of 97 percent) and Usman was able to get him to the mat on multiple occasions. It would have been even more lopsided had referee Marc Goddard not foolishly stood the fighters up on multiple occasions. Usman is obviously terrific, but no one saw Woodley planting an egg like this. Tyron seemed likely to earn an immediate rematch if he lost given how long had he been champion, but there's no way the UFC can run this one back after Woodley's performance on Saturday. To Woodley's credit, he owned up to his performance and praised Usman. Woodley stated just last month that he planned to move up to middleweight by the end of 2019. Of course, he was planning on beating Usman when those comments were made.
Losing is one thing, but not being the least bit competitive is another story entirely and Woodley looked baffled and disinterested on Saturday night. To say he had zero answers for everything the challenger threw at him would be the understatement of the century. His coaches asked Woodley for more in between every round and the former champion never answered the bell. Tyron entered with the best takedown defense in UFC history (north of 97 percent) and Usman was able to get him to the mat on multiple occasions. It would have been even more lopsided had referee Marc Goddard not foolishly stood the fighters up on multiple occasions. Usman is obviously terrific, but no one saw Woodley planting an egg like this. Tyron seemed likely to earn an immediate rematch if he lost given how long had he been champion, but there's no way the UFC can run this one back after Woodley's performance on Saturday. To Woodley's credit, he owned up to his performance and praised Usman. Woodley stated just last month that he planned to move up to middleweight by the end of 2019. Of course, he was planning on beating Usman when those comments were made.
Planning move up to middleweight
Woodley intends to move up to middleweight by the end of 2019, Aaron Bronsteter of TSN sports reports.
ANALYSIS
Woodley feels that his work as a welterweight will be done if he can defend his title against Kamaru Usman (scheduled for March 2 at UFC 235) and eventually against Colby Covington. It's a reasonable position for a fighter who has already defended his title four times. If he's successful on a fifth and potentially sixth defense, he'll have his sights set on Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum at the top of the middleweight field.
Woodley feels that his work as a welterweight will be done if he can defend his title against Kamaru Usman (scheduled for March 2 at UFC 235) and eventually against Colby Covington. It's a reasonable position for a fighter who has already defended his title four times. If he's successful on a fifth and potentially sixth defense, he'll have his sights set on Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum at the top of the middleweight field.