Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley spoke with TMZ recently and shared his thoughts on a number of legends from the modern era of MMA. His comments regarding former UFC lightweight champion and number one men’s pound-for-pound fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov might raise a few eyebrows.
“[Nurmagomedov] on my top 10 list? Probably not,” said Woodley when presented with a number of iconic names from MMA history. “I fuck with Khabib. I like him, I respect him a lot. I think he’s a good fighter. I think his type of fight for that weight class, nobody could do that besides Sean Sherk back in the day, but like, he was just really aggressive, but I didn’t see the wrestler with good hands fight him so I couldn’t really jump on that train.”
Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in 2020 after defending the lightweight title versus Justin Gaethje. The win moved his record to 29-0. His last five opponents include Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Al Iaquinta and Edson Barboza.
In addition to Nurmagomedov, Woodley shared his thoughts on Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Demetrious Johnson.
Of former UFC light heavyweight champion Jones, Woodley said: “Best fighter we’ve seen whether he’s fought consistently or whatever the case.”
When discussing Silva, Woodley called the Brazilian ‘the GOAT’. “Because he did it in a really respectful way. He beat people without being able to talk the shit that everybody else did.”
Additionally, Woodley said that Johnson, “is the most well-rounded fighter we’ve ever saw” and that he likes GSP since “he was very respectful all the time.”
Woodley won the UFC welterweight title with a win over Robbie Lawler in 2016. He defended the belt four times before dropping the title to Kamaru Usman in 2019.
Woodley then went 0-3 and was able to gain his release from the UFC. After leaving the Octagon he fought, and lost, twice to influencer turned boxer Jake Paul.
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