Tyron Woodley KOs Robbie Lawler
Tyron Woodley shook up the MMA scene when he scored a first round knockout over welterweight champ Robbie Lawler. Now with the strap, we can look forward to what lays ahead for champ Woodley. But first, let’s go over some details from the fight:
The Fight
In my breakdown, I discussed how heavy-handed Woodley is, and how his best chance at winning was to apply pressure early. Lawler has been subject to weird periods of inactivity, and he takes a while to get going. That was the story of the fight. Lawler didn’t threaten at all; he just moved around the outside and let Woodley get comfortable. Then, a quick right hand feint dropped Lawler’s hand and allowed for Woodley’s overhand right to hit its target. It was a simple, but brilliantly-executed fight.
What’s next for Tyron Woodley?
Asking “what’s next” for a fighter usually opens up an endless discussion of possibilities. However, there is one man that absolutely should be fighting for the title in his next fight – Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. This man is riding a seven-fight win streak, two of those being wins over top contenders (at the time). Not only does he have the merits to be challenging for the belt next, but he’s an interesting match up for Woodley. On one side you have Thompson: the slickest stand up specialist in the division with fantastic movement. On the other side you have Woodley: the most explosive guy in his division with some serious stopping power.
But is this what Woodley wants?
No. It isn’t. After KO’ing Robbie Lawler, Woodley went on to call out two opponents – both not name Stephen Thompson. The first of which was Nick Diaz, who’s NSAC suspension just finished. Diaz is ready to get back in the Octagon, but he has not won a fight in nearly 5 years. He’s a popular name with great skills and an interesting style, but in a meritocracy he does not belong anywhere near the welterweight strap. After all, he lost to Carlos Condit for the interim belt back in 2012, and then lost to Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight belt right after that. Even though Woodley wants the “money fight” with Nick Diaz – I don’t see it happening.
The other man Woodley called out was the former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Even though this match up is still a bit far-fetched, I can actually see this happening. GSP technically didn’t lose his welterweight belt, so upon return it would make sense for an immediate title shot. He’s is a big name that could sell out an arena, and is an interesting style match up for Tyron Woodley. GSP has fought explosive, heavy-handed wrestlers like Woodley before, but a lot would come down to whether GSP’s physical form is still enough.
Why is Woodley ducking Wonderboy?
According to Woodley, he wants a money fight. He’s been fighting for 10 years and is finally able to fight for some real money. I don’t blame him. After all, it’s what everybody is doing. Ever since Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey started making millions per fight, fighters have been trying to get to their levels of stardom. Unfortunately, a newly-crowned champion with little starpower does not have the authority to be picking opponents. Especially with such a worthy contender on standby.
Other Welterweight Happenings
On August 27th, top tanked welterweights Demian Maia and Carlos Condit will square off. The winner should arguably be in the mix for the next title shot. Maia has put together a five-fight win streak over very legit competition, and is one big win away from being considered championship-caliber. Condit on the other hand is coming off a close, controversial split decision loss to Robbie Lawler. Many felt Condit did enough to steal Lawler’s belt earlier this year, but nevertheless he’s going to fight to remain at the top of the division.
Even though the winner of Maia/Condit is going to be pretty damn close to number one contention, I still feel Stephen Thompson is above and beyond them in terms of merits. So let’s go over a few different scenarios I can see playing out.
Welterweight Scenarios
Tyron Woodley vs Stephen Thompson
One thing I can see happening for sure is a quick turn around for Tyron Woodley. He called Nick Diaz out for UFC 202, which is only a few weeks away, but I have a hard time believing the UFC will let Diaz leapfrog over Stephen Thompson. Now, if they were to book a Woodley vs Thompson match up, I don’t have a clue where it would happen. I’d like to see it on a PPV, but we have been seeing more and more title fights get put on free TV.
That means there’s a strong possibility we could have a Woodley vs Thompson welterweight title fight booked on either a Fight Pass, FS1, or FOX card.
I would assume this match up would have to wait until UFC 206 (after MSG) if it gets put on PPV. Every fighter and their dog is campaigning to fight at UFC 205, and something tells me it’s only going to be big name title fights headlining this event. Unfortunately, Woodley vs Thompson is not a big name title fight. That being said, I would love it if Woodley vs Thompson could make the MSG card.
Tyron Woodley vs Georges St Pierre
This is a fight that would definitely be involved at MSG. But if this happens, then what happens to Stephen Thompson? Well, he could either sit out and wait to face the winner of that fight. Or, he could fight someone like Nick Diaz. A win over Diaz would give Thompson some great exposure as Diaz is a big name. A win for Diaz would give him some serious legitimacy for a title shot.
This 170 lb division is on fire right now. A lot things got shaken up courtesy of Woodley’s overhand right. It’s a glorious time to be a fight fan, and I can’t wait to see what happens!
