The Film Room: Tyron Woodley
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Tyron Woodley will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title for the fifth time on Saturday, when he takes on perhaps his toughest test to date in Kamaru Usman in the UFC 235 co-main event. Woodley wants to be known as the greatest welterweight of all-time, and a win over the highly touted Usman would bring him one step closer to that goal.
The exploits of the welterweight champion are under the microscope
in this installment of The Film Room.
The problem with Woodley backing himself to the cage is that a patient striker who can feint and draw reactions out of him can beat him up in close quarters. Woodley’s Achilles’ heel has always been effective and consistent feinting. Rory MacDonald was the first to catch on to Woodley’s tendency to back himself to the cage and look for counters as opponents get overzealous. Instead of getting aggressive in these positions, MacDonald would constantly feint and come forward with a quick combo when Woodley took the bait before jumping out of range again. Macdonald is the only person so far to exploit this hole, but the game plan to beat Woodley is out there, and it is only a matter of time before someone else uses this same game plan to defeat the champion.
Woodley is one of the best counterstrikers in the division, but that does not mean he is ineffective on the lead. Woodley’s leading right hand is ridiculously quick, with the power to finish anybody in the division. He has become a much more patient striker since becoming champion, but we know he can be just as effective on the lead from past performances. Usman is the first fighter who can match Woodley’s grappling, so it would not be surprising to see him more patient than ever out of fear of being taken down. In the future, when he is not facing a grappling-based fighter, it would be nice to see Woodley work on the lead more and put on some exciting fights. Woodley has developed the reputation as a boring fighter -- a frustrating development for fans who watched his pre-championship days and know he is capable of putting on great fights.
When working on the lead, Woodley’s money punch is a shuffling or shifting right hook that won him the title against Robbie Lawler. Notice how Woodley feints right and left hands while shuffling forward before throwing the right hook as the opponent bites on one of the feints. This works best against fellow orthodox opponents where the right hook can land over the top of the lead hand, but he proved against Lawler that he can land it just as effectively against a southpaw. If Woodley finds himself getting battered against the cage, watch for this shuffling hook to get him off of it.
We have seen very little of Woodley’s offensive grappling, but he was an NCAA All-American out of the University of Missouri and earned his black belt in jiu-jitsu in 2018 following his submission win over Darren Till. It seems doubtful that Woodley would want anything to do with Usman’s grappling and he has some of the best takedown defense in the UFC, so it will be interesting to see if Usman can get him down. If the fight does hit the ground, Usman appears to have the advantage, though it would not be surprising to see the champion dominate the exchanges on the feet and on the ground.
Tyron Woodley will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title for the fifth time on Saturday, when he takes on perhaps his toughest test to date in Kamaru Usman in the UFC 235 co-main event. Woodley wants to be known as the greatest welterweight of all-time, and a win over the highly touted Usman would bring him one step closer to that goal.
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Although Woodley’s athleticism and explosiveness are the traits for
which most fans know, he is much more of a counterstriker than a
leading attacker. Most of Woodley’s game revolves around backing
himself to the cage and looking for counter rights as opponents
come in. With his back against the cage, most opponents believe
they have him in a disadvantageous position and look for the
finish. However, Woodley is most comfortable with his back against
the fence, and he uses this tendency in most opponents to bait them
to come forward with strikes, at which point he can land his
counter right. This tactic worked wonders early in his career, but
as he progresses and opponents become aware of this strategy, it
becomes tougher to pull off.
The problem with Woodley backing himself to the cage is that a patient striker who can feint and draw reactions out of him can beat him up in close quarters. Woodley’s Achilles’ heel has always been effective and consistent feinting. Rory MacDonald was the first to catch on to Woodley’s tendency to back himself to the cage and look for counters as opponents get overzealous. Instead of getting aggressive in these positions, MacDonald would constantly feint and come forward with a quick combo when Woodley took the bait before jumping out of range again. Macdonald is the only person so far to exploit this hole, but the game plan to beat Woodley is out there, and it is only a matter of time before someone else uses this same game plan to defeat the champion.
Woodley is one of the best counterstrikers in the division, but that does not mean he is ineffective on the lead. Woodley’s leading right hand is ridiculously quick, with the power to finish anybody in the division. He has become a much more patient striker since becoming champion, but we know he can be just as effective on the lead from past performances. Usman is the first fighter who can match Woodley’s grappling, so it would not be surprising to see him more patient than ever out of fear of being taken down. In the future, when he is not facing a grappling-based fighter, it would be nice to see Woodley work on the lead more and put on some exciting fights. Woodley has developed the reputation as a boring fighter -- a frustrating development for fans who watched his pre-championship days and know he is capable of putting on great fights.
When working on the lead, Woodley’s money punch is a shuffling or shifting right hook that won him the title against Robbie Lawler. Notice how Woodley feints right and left hands while shuffling forward before throwing the right hook as the opponent bites on one of the feints. This works best against fellow orthodox opponents where the right hook can land over the top of the lead hand, but he proved against Lawler that he can land it just as effectively against a southpaw. If Woodley finds himself getting battered against the cage, watch for this shuffling hook to get him off of it.
We have seen very little of Woodley’s offensive grappling, but he was an NCAA All-American out of the University of Missouri and earned his black belt in jiu-jitsu in 2018 following his submission win over Darren Till. It seems doubtful that Woodley would want anything to do with Usman’s grappling and he has some of the best takedown defense in the UFC, so it will be interesting to see if Usman can get him down. If the fight does hit the ground, Usman appears to have the advantage, though it would not be surprising to see the champion dominate the exchanges on the feet and on the ground.
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