Tyron Woodley retains UFC welterweight championship with decision over Stephen Thompson

TYRON Woodley retained his UFC world welterweight title with a majority points decision win over rival Stephen Thompson. However, we were left without a victor after the bout ended in a rare majority draw.

“I know this is a sport where you guys love to see knockouts”, Woodley said. As the round came to an end, Thompson closed out with a quick flurry. “I can’t wait to see Georges St-Pierre back out there again”.

The fight was nothing to write about whatsoever.

Tyron Woodley – Woodley finally has a successful defense after defeating Thompson, and is now looking for the next challenge.

With a fight so close the first time around, we thought it would be a great idea to introduce Champions Picks, where we poll MMA fighters, fans and the Champions staff to pick the winners of major UFC cards.

Thompson survived it and got back to his feet before the closing bell, but in a bout with little sustained action, it felt like an eruption, and sealed the pivotal final round. It wasn’t like Thompson did too much.

Ready for UFC 209 tonight? By the way, it was a draw past year, just in a fight with Tyrone Woodley.

A former collegiate wrestler, Woodley circled the outside of the cage – blitzing forward only a handful of times with the right hand. If Woodley can get a hold of Thompson and take him down, he can grind out a win.

Woodley outpointed Thompson, 70-66, in overall strikes and 54-53 in significant blows.

For his part, Woodley saw success when he did attack in the third and fifth rounds and that’s why he still has the title.

Factor in Thompson’s singular style-which is essentially a retrofitting of karate for MMA-and sprinkle in Woodley’s height and reach disadvantages, and the recipe for awkwardness was always there. Shame he didn’t do that throughout the fight. Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson are also aware with their failure to deliver an action-packed fight for the crowd.

Both fighters have something to prove after the draw, so they’re likely to fight with more fire than in their last bout, during which they both looked a little muted. This could be just the kind of match up that the heavy handed Woodley needs to bring him out of his recently conservative shell. Woodley did what we said he should do, use his wrestling. A carbon copy of the same thing as the first round. Not a fan of either strategy in the opening round. In the third, he landed a takedown and was able to control Thompson for most of the round. During the first contest with Thompson he battered the striker on the floor and many analysts suspected he would focus on grounding and pounding his challenger in the rematch. The first time the two 170 lbs. fighters met, the fight ended in a majority draw at UFC 205 November 12, 2016. Fighting out of Sacramento, she will be making her UFC debut come fight night and what a night, making it in Las Vegas and on the main card.