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Opinion
Remember Tyron Woodley? The last champion before Kamaru Usman, Woodley was defeated by the current champ in one of the most dominant title performances we have seen in a long time.
Since then, Woodley has had a couple of fights fall through as he tries to make his way back for a rematch.
It’s easy to forget just how good Tyron is – arguably among the top three welterweights of all time – he has heavy hands with knockout power, a black belt in jiu-jitsu, and is a two-time all American wrestler.
He has all the tools and has beaten most styles that have come before him, including Stephen Thompson and Darren Till (both strikers), Demian Maia (best jiu-jitsu in UFC) and Robbie Lawler.
Despite his ranking, Woodley needs to win his upcoming fight against Gilbert Burns to stay in the title picture and, given how stacked the welterweight division is, he might have to win another fight after this one to get a shot.
Woodley’s fight IQ is as high as his ranking in the division – number one. He is very smart and knows how to avoid his opponent’s strengths, while using their’s to either get a finish or the decision.
Burns has been on his own streak since Woodley last fought, with his biggest win coming over Demian Maia, who he finished by knockout, which hasn’t been done in ten years.
A jiu-jitsu champion, Burns has the upper hand on the ground, but Woodley won’t be easy to submit should the fight end up there.
Crucially, Burns has never seen the fourth round and the latter rounds are something different.
As such, since Woodley has been there so often and has the experience as well as the fight IQ, Tyron will get the win with a fourth or fifth-round knockout.
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