After all of the social media ruckus, a welterweight championship match has finally been set between Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman. This is only the second time “The Chosen One” will be fighting someone who is undefeated inside the Octagon.
Count on the champion to try to finish Usman like he did to his most recent foe, Darren Till. As he readies the gameplan that will ferry him to his goal, learn more about Woodley through these important numbers.
2: Sport athlete in high school. Woodley exceled in both wrestling and American football. In college, he attended the University of Missouri. He joined its wrestling team and became a two-time All-American.
7: Wins without a loss as an amateur. He had already built quite a reputation during his amateur days.
69: Seconds required to beat Steve Schneider in his professional debut. Woodley tapped him out following a series of unanswered blows.
48: Seconds required to beat Jeff Carstens in his second professional fight. “T-Wood” once again finished the fight with another quick submission, this time by rear-naked choke.
10: Wins to start his career. After two straight victories to get his career rolling, Woodley was signed by Strikeforce. His debut fight ended with another first-round submission, and he followed it up with seven consecutive wins, defeating the likes of Andre Galvao, Tarec Saffiedine and Paul Daley.
1: Loss in Strikeforce. Woodley ended his Strikeforce campaign with eight wins and only one defeat, which was to Nate Marquardt for the promotion’s vacant welterweight title. His efforts were recognized in 2010 and he was given the Rising Star of the Year award.
42: Percent takedown accuracy in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. After 12 fights inside the Octagon, records show that he has attempted a total of 12 takedowns, finishing five of them. Most came against Carlos Condit, as he was able to bring the former title challenger to the ground three times.
47: Percent striking accuracy in the UFC. Woodley has so far landed 414 out of 888 significant strikes inside the Octagon.
12: Victories by stoppage. He has six wins each by knockout and submission. Apart from Schneider, Carstens and Galvao, his victims include Salvador Woods, Zach Light, Rudy Bears, Jay Hieron, Josh Koscheck, Condit, Dong Hyun Kim, Robbie Lawler and Till.
8: Significant strikes was his lowest output in the UFC. This came against Lawler, but was due to him finishing “Ruthless” early in the first round. With the victory, Woodley snatched the UFC welterweight belt.
4: Post-fight bonuses. He has been awarded Fight of the Night once and Performance of the Night three times.
0: Losses since 2014. Since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Rory MacDonald at UFC 174, Woodley has yet to be defeated.
36: Years of age. Born in Ferguson, Missouri, on April 7, 1982, Woodley was the 11th of 13 children.