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Kamaru Usman Beats Tyron Woodley by Decision; Wins Welterweight Title at UFC 235
March 3, 2019
Kamaru Usman is officially the new UFC welterweight champion with a unanimous-decision win over Tyron Woodley in the co-main event of UFC 235 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The Nigerian Nightmare dominated the champion from bell to bell with a strong combination of wrestling, dirty boxing and relentless pressure.
Usman was committed early to pushing the pace in the fight. He started off with a takedown attempt that turned into a guillotine submission attempt from Woodley. However, it was Usman's aggression that stood out most as the fight got off to a competitive start.
That pressure would start to get to Woodley in the second round. Usman clinched up the champion and took him for a ride with a clinch throw that saw him wind up in mount. From there, he went to work banking damage on his opponent's face landing a steady trickle of short punches and elbows.
He wasn't able to get the finish, but the precedent had been set that it was Usman's fight to lose.
The third round would see Usman take the fight to the champion again. Instead of the ground it was against the cage where the Nigerian Nightmare decided to do his damage. At one point Usman ripped off 20 unanswered shots to the ribs as Woodley offered little in the way of resistance.
All the punishment added up in the fourth round as Usman's relentless pressure finally broke the levy and nearly picked up the finish with massive uppercuts that turned Woodley into a bobblehead.
The fifth and final round was a victory lap for the new champion. He mostly controlled top position over a clearly exhausted and resigned Woodley to close out an incredible performance.
Usman ends the third-longest reign over the welterweight division. Woodley's four title defenses were only bested by Georges St-Pierre (nine) and Matt Hughes (five).
This moment is the culmination of a perfect 10-0 run since Usman joined the UFC in 2015. Now the challenge will be just how long he can hold on to the belt in a division that Woodley was able to run for a few years.
Who he'll have to prove himself against first will be an interesting decision for the UFC. On one hand, champions of Woodley's stature have traditionally received immediate rematches. On the other, Woodley wasn't exactly an exciting champion, and there's a rivalry brewing between Usman and the No. 1 contender Colby Covington already.
"After I'm done with Woodley, if he plays his cards right, he has to beg me now," Usman said of Covington to reporters. "Because five times, I've been offered that fight. I've accepted all five, and he's declined all five. He has to beg me."
Regardless of who the UFC chooses, the welterweight division has a new face, new name and new energy at the top.