At UFC 228, the welterweight champion had a point to prove and he did just that with a flawless victory.
Tyron Woodley was often overlooked during his welterweight title reign that started at UFC 201 where he knocked out Robbie Lawler.
‘The Chosen One’ would go on to defeat Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia in title defenses where his style and the manner of his wins led to a lot of criticism, aside from his highly entertaining first clash with Thompson at UFC 209 which ended in a draw.
Woodley wasn’t a popular champion and that only meant that when a new and exciting contender rose through the ranks, he had even more of a chip on his shoulder.
On September 8 of 2018, the champion sent a message that whether people liked it or not, he was the best in the world, at least for a little while longer.
Tyron Woodley crushed Darren Till’s hype train after submitting him at UFC 228
Tyron Woodley came into UFC 228 as the underdog as he prepared to defend his welterweight title against the undefeated Darren Till.
Having beaten the likes of Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone, the 17-0-1 Till had already become a star that the UFC was firmly behind.
Unfortunately, the 25-year-old came up against a champion who wasn’t quite ready to pass the torch at that moment.
The first round was short on action, as expected, with both men looking to read their opponent to try and catch them with a big shot.
A big part of why Woodley’s title defenses received criticism was his low output but with the champion having such explosive power in his hands, opponents couldn’t risk opening up on him.
Just 10 seconds into the second round, Till looked to press the action by stepping in with a big shot, eating a counter right hand that dropped him for his trouble.
Woodley continued to land damage from the top position throughout the round until he locked up a D’Arce choke for the submission win.
UFC stats show that Woodley outlanded Till by 74-1, with the challenger attempting just 7 strikes in total.
Tyron Woodley’s impressive win over Darren Till would be his last win inside the Octagon
After Tyron Woodley’s cautious low-output style proved to be very effective, an opponent was eventually able to overcome this by putting a pace on the welterweight champion.
‘The Chosen One’ would go on to face Kamaru Usman the following March where he was dethroned following a dominant performance from the challenger, who won all five rounds.
UFC 228 would end up being Woodley’s last win inside the Octagon as his one-sided defeat to Usman was the changing of the guard that many expected his clash with Darren Till to be.
| Tyron Woodley’s opponents after UFC 228 | Event & Date | Result |
| Kamaru Usman | UFC 235, March 2019 | Unanimous Decision Loss |
| Gilbert Burns | UFC Vegas 1, May 2020 | Unanimous Decision Loss |
| Colby Covington | UFC Vegas 11, September 2020 | TKO (Rib Injury) |
| Vicente Luque | UFC 260, March 2021 | Submission (Brabo choke) |
Woodley was set to make his MMA return, four years on from his last UFC fight, with the GFL having been selected as the first draft pick.