For UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the path to stardom and the title belt he now holds was a grueling trek.
Almost 10 years after he made his mixed martial arts debut, Woodley now defends the crown in arguably the UFC’s most competitive division on the biggest stage in the history of the sport – Madison Square Garden.
And the champ is going to stop and smell the roses Saturday before he tries to defeat Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
“This is a dream come true. I used to fight in bars where the smoke would go into the ring as I was fighting,” Woodley said Wednesday at the UFC 205 Open Workouts. “So to fight in Madison Square Garden – I’m going to tear this place down Saturday night.”
Woodley is coming off one of the most destructive finishes in the history of the division at UFC 201 when he knocked out former champion Robbie Lawler in just two minutes. It was the fastest finish in welterweight championship history, but the champ still isn’t getting the respect he feels he deserves.
In the co-main event on the greatest fight card ever assembled, Woodley is a 2-to-1 underdog against Wonderboy. But the slight isn’t bothering “The Chosen One.”
“They like me to fuel my fire and I prove them wrong every single time. I’ve been the underdog my last five fights and I’ve won them all,” Woodley said.
