A very big change happened in the welterweight division. Kamaru Usman made Tyron Woodley stop and he won the 170lb title at UFC 235.
Sunday night’s fight at the T-Mobile Arena turned into a five round battle. The UFC fighter Usman won all his fights and beat Woodley in a unanimous decision (50-44 twice, 50-45). CBS Sports also posted a 50-44 scoreline in Usman’s favour.
“How long have you been telling them no one can fight me?” said Usman to UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the fight. “I’ve wanted this fight for a long time. I’ll be honest, I may not be the best puncher in the world, I may not be the best fighter in the world, but when it comes to mixing that shit up, I’m the damn best welterweight on the planet right now.”
Woodley has never been in a fight before. In the 4th round, Woodley might have won if it wasn’t for Usman’s aggressive moves.
How the fight went down
“Kamaru came out and started the fight,” Woodley said. “Sometimes there are those fights in the Octagon when it feels like a bad dream. Sometimes you see opportunities, but you don’t take them. He came out prepared.”
Usman controlled the fight from the clinch and on the ground after he knocked Woodley down. Woodley usually has a high defense against take-downs, but Usman took advantage of all opportunities. He got many body punches and short elbow strikes in.
“He had a good game. He was on top of me. I think he deserves to win. Hopefully we can have another game and I can do better.”
Turning point
Woodley, 36, saw his corner urge him to be more aggressive and go forward after each round. But with the exception of a small handful of short right hands, the champion was in the quick sand all evening as Usman wore him down with the body. A short elbow to the face from the clinch clipped Woodley’s right eye late in the second round. The challenger later punched Woodley in the fifth round to deliver a dominant take-down and finish the fight as hard as he started it.
The first thing you should do is to praise Tyrone Woodley. He came in and beat everyone and a lot of people don’t like him. But when you talk about the best welterweights, he should be on that list.
The outcome of the fight
Woodley’s only hope was that he can punch and kick Usman. It was the fourth round and Woodley was exhausted but he still tried. He punched and kicked, but Usman threw cleaner punches, so Woodley ran to his corner during the round.
“That’s something we work on in our gym,” Usman said. “We have people with all kinds of bodies, and we have knowledge too.” I come from Nigeria. I never dreamed I would be here.
Colby Covington crashed a party in Las Vegas and he accused Dana White of not giving him a chance at the title. He was the interim champion, but now he will get his first chance at Usman. Brett Okamoto reported this on ESPN.
