Tyron Woodley and the UFC Will Never Get Along
What will it take for Tyron Woodley to get the credit he deserves?
Woodley, who defends his UFC welterweight championship Saturday night against Kamaru Usman, isn't just under-appreciated. It's not just that he's given less respect than other UFC champions, some of whom have nowhere near the accomplishments listed on Woodley's resume.
It's not just that UFC President Dana White regards him with disdain, taking personal delight in pointing out Woodley's shortcomings and thereby diminishing him in the eyes of UFC fans who aren't devoted enough to make considered decisions for themselves. Luckily for all of us, the number of fans who still take White at his word is diminished.
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It isn't just one of those things. It's the combination of all of them that makes the lack of respect egregious.
Since his days in Strikeforce, Woodley has been derided as a boring fighter who does just enough to win decisions. This has no basis in reality, of course; his detonating right hand, not to mention a fully formed mixed martial arts arsenal, has broken him out of the usual "just a wrestler" mold. You wouldn't know it from the support he receives from fans or his own promoter, of course.
Here's what White had to say back in December, pointedly blaming Woodley for "holding up" the welterweight division. White's comments came less than three months after Woodley crushed Darren Till, then the UFC's latest hand-picked choice to end the Woodley reign.
"Woodley," White said when asked who he thought was responsible for holding up the welterweight division (h/t Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting). "When is Woodley ready to fight anybody ever?"
According to White, the UFC had to jump through hurdles to get Woodley to defend his title against Till, whom he battered and submitted with a D'Arce choke in the second round of the UFC 228 main event earlier this year.
"And it took us forever to get him to fight that fight," White continued. "Guy never wants to fight. You want to be a world champion, but you don't want to fight anybody. That's a problem."
You can see how ridiculous this is, yes? Why is a dominant champion given such short shrift by a promoter who would seem to benefit from praising, rather than denigrating, the talents of one of the UFC's most dominant champions?
Here's my take: Woodley is given such little respect by his promoter (and thus by the fans who take White's word as gospel) because he doesn't fall in line and automatically do what the UFC wants him to do.
He treats himself and his career as any pro athlete would (or should). He looks out for himself first, which is certainly the right of any professional athlete, much less one who puts his body on the line in the way a fighter does. This is not the way the UFC prefers its athletes to act.
The UFC has historically found the most solace in fighters and champions who answer the phone when called and never say no to a fight. Woodley's rightful self-interest, both in his own career and in the things that are financially and holistically best for him and his family, put him at odds with his promoter. He doesn't jump when the UFC calls. He doesn't fight anyone it puts in front of him just because it's put someone in front of him.
Woodley is calculating and smart about the steps he has taken and will take and how those steps will affect the progression of both his career and his personal life. And the UFC, for all the advances it's made to lay claim to being a mainstream company with mainstream stars, still has one foot in the old "real fighters fight when they're told to fight" days.
The unfortunate thing is, Woodley is never going to be the guy the UFC wants him to be. He's never going to be the company man. He's always going to look out for his own interests, and rightly so, because that's what a professional athlete does. That's going to keep him at odds with White and the UFC.
The only thing Woodley's situation shows is just how far the UFC still has to go before being considered a truly professional sporting organization.
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