Dana White scored ‘Wonderboy’ beating Tyron Woodley at UFC 209

A fight much closer than the score reflected, the bout between Teymur and Vannata was named the evening’s Fight of the Night.

Woodley retained his title via a majority decision in the main event Saturday at UFC 209 at T-Mobile Arena that was controversial if only for the lack of action. ESPN.com scored it 49-48 for Woodley. Their encounter at UFC 205 last November ended in a majority draw. But the SC native has also demonstrated exceptional stopping power in first-round knockout wins over former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks as a massive +235 underdog at UFC Fight Night 82, and over Jake Ellenberger as -250 chalk at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale. One more punch for good measure caused Bektic to collapse on his head and nearly do a somersault as the referee jumped in to stop the fight with just 1 minutes, 41 seconds left.

“I was extremely nervous [about the scores]”, Woodley admitted. “Nothing was surprising. Stephen did a way better job of getting in my face”. He made it hard. I wish I woulda did that a few other rounds. But in the last round, I knew I just had to come in to try and get it done. “I was just praying and making sure the belt stayed home”.

The first fight between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson was an instant classic.

“I don’t think it’s being outspoken, I think it’s just speaking on what you think is factual or true”, Woodley said. “I had to play it smart”. “Live to fight another day”.

“He’ll start fighting and arguing with people on social media”, White said during an interview with ESPN Radio.

This time around, it manifested itself from the beginning, starting with a slog-like first round that featured only 11 combined strikes between the two competitors, according to FightMetric numbers.

That’s the right approach for Woodley to take going forward. By his reasoning, Thompson had five rounds to wrest the belt from him, and hadn’t been able to do so. Before their first fight, Thompson was landing 4.69 significant strikes per minute, whereas Woodley was landing only 2.50. However, in the fourth, Thompson returned to his range game, outpointing Woodley on the feet.

Thompson’s striking ability was never once in question when he first stepped into the octagon but what has made his journey to the top truly noteworthy, however, are the improvements and the adjustments he has made before our very eyes over the course of his relatively green fifteen-fight career.

“You want to boo sitting up there drinking your beer and eating your popcorn?”

If truth be told, it’s unlikely Woodley can string together enough wins to put himself in a position to even be in the GOAT conversation. “A lot was at stake”. Cooper is coming off the back of decision victory over Anna Elmose at UFC Fight Night in Belfast.

Now holds the championship belt Woodley.