Tyrone Woodley is currently on the list of 15 best mixed-style fighters in the world, regardless of weight category. The champion of the most popular fighting organization of the world UFC has achieved everything with his hard work and perseverance. Several times in his career there were turning points when almost everyone refused to believe in Tyrone. Woodley took a break and returned in great shape. He managed to take the champion belt from a guy like Robbie Lawler. Tyrone has successfully defended his title three times and is currently waiting for the next fighter to try to challenge his rule in the division.
Biography
The future champion was born in 1982, on April 17, in the city of Ferguson. There Tyrone Woodley spent his childhood. He was born into a large family, being the eleventh child out of thirteen. The mother was mainly engaged in the upbringing of the baby, because the father died early. Tyrone from childhood showed his craving for sports. He particularly succeeded in wrestling and American football. Even then, he set a record: spent 48 fights and won all.
In 2000, Woodley graduated from high school and chose a university to enter. After much deliberation, he stopped at Missouri, where he received a diploma in agriculture. The future champion did not finish his studies there. In 2012, he received a diploma from the University of Southern Illinois and a degree in public administration.
Fighting career
As already noted, Tyrone Woodley has been fond of wrestling since childhood. In this sport, he achieved a lot as a teenager. Then he retrained as a mixed-style fighter, who he is to this day. Hard training was not in vain and Woodley finished his first fight at 20 seconds.
He began his professional career in 2009, when he fought against Steve Schnyder. The match did not last long, already in the 2nd minute Woodley beat his opponent and won his first victory. At present, Tyrone has held 21 matches at a professional level: out of 18, he won, 3 lost.
UFC
Before starting a review of his career in the main promotion of the world, one interesting fact should be noted. Tyrone is the base fighter, whose strenth should be the stalls. However, in fact, he is a very dangerous knockout who does not like to fight on earth. Such retraining is a rather rare occurrence.
The weight of Tyrone Woodley is 77 kg, he performs in the welterweight division. The first fight under the auspices of the UFC took place in 2013, the future champion immediately made a bright statement about himself. He knocked out Jay Chiron 35 seconds after the start of the fight. Tyrone delighted professionals, he was immediately given a fight against Josh Koschek, who was a very famous fighter at that time. Woodley knocked out him too.
After that, the promotion organized the battle of two talented fighters: Tyrone Woodley and Rory MacDonald. In that fight, Rory completely outplayed the opponent and got a landslide victory by the decision of the judges. Then Tyrone held several more fights, alternating victories and defeats, until he was given a fight for the title. In the first round, Tyrone Woodley knocked out the most dangerous division guy (Robbie Lawler) and won the champion belt.
At the moment, the best welterweight of the planet has held three title defenses: twice against Stephen Thompson and once against Demian Maya. The fights of Tyrone Woodley in recent years are not spectacular, but it is very interesting to watch his actions in the octagon. He is a very smart fighter who wins his fights due to competent tactics and intelligence.
Personal life
The UFC champion is an exemplary family man and has two children. In addition to mixed martial arts, he acts in films and quite successfully. Tyrone Woodley is a versatile person who succeeds in any business he takes up. He was able to become a champion, although no one believed in him. Tyrone continues to win battles, thus wiping his nose to his haters.