UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley is coming off of a successful title defense over Stephen Thompson at UFC 205. Woodley was criticized for his boring performance during the fight and he’s now firing back at those critics.
“People can say, ‘Oh, he’s a boring fighter,’” Woodley said on The MMA Hour. “How many guys have I knocked out? Think about the Carlos Condit fight, the Dong Hyun Kim fight, the Robbie Lawler fight, the Jay Hieron fight, the Josh Koscheck fight. Even the last fight with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Everything that people said about me, I’ve proven wrong. But nobody has that long-term memory. Everybody is like Dory from ‘Finding Nemo.’”
The champion has defended his gold twice, with Thompson as the opponent both of those times. One reason that Woodley believes many fans are against him is due to the way the job UFC has done promoting him.
“You gotta know me to promote me,” Woodleys said. “You can’t just promote a fighter. I believe the UFC should promote stories, they should promote lifestyles, they should promote what it took for that person to be in the Octagon. Because it took something for all of us to be here. And that’s how you get the fans behind you, that’s how you get them to stay behind you. Not just a fight. I feel like I’m the guy that they can make a star, that’s already doing everything for them. There’s not much more you need to do.”
Woodley doesn't currently have a challenger lined up for his next UFC title defense.
