Tyron Woodley: I Don’t Think That’s Accurate To Say I Choke In Every Big Fight

It’s safe to say that No. 4-ranked welterweight Tyron Woodley didn’t put forth his finest performance against Rory MacDonald in the co-main event of June 14’s derided UFC 174 pay-per-view (PPV) event from Vancouver.

Losing a one-sided decision to “Ares,” Woodley added fuel to the fire of his critics, which included UFC President Dana White. After the loss, White was quick to blast Woodley by saying that “The Chosen One” chokes in big fights.

Woodley recently spoke up to MMA Junkie to give his assessment of that criticism, noting that he froze up but had just beaten a former world champion in Carlos Condit in his previous bout:

“I don’t think that’s accurate to say, but in that particular fight I was frozen. It was set up to be a better fight stylistically wise. I kind of let myself down and my training partners and coaches down. It’s more important to do what I’m capable of for myself and for my family.

I don’t think that’s accurate to say I choke in every big fight, because I’ve been in some big fights. I think I didn’t choke in the Carlos Condit fight and that was the biggest fight of my life. Carlos is a little more dangerous than Rory. He’s probably one of the most dangerous and that was a big fight.”

Woodley seems to be focused on his win over Carlos, a bout in which “The Natural Born Killer” tore his ACL after a second round takedown. While Woodley was no doubt winning the fight, there was an overall feeling that Condit was beginning to turn the tides and would have had a very good chance to come back had he not injured himself.

Woodley is apparently dwelling on the perception of that win, and doesn’t want to put MacDonald through the same set of circumstances:

“You know, I feel like when I fought Carlos, I feel like people kind of diminished the moment from me so I don’t want to do that to Rory and make all these excuses as if I wasn’t a hundred percent and I had the flu and a death was in my family; something like that.

He came out and he had a gameplan and you know, within doing that, there was a few things within me, I can’t really pinpoint why and what happened, but I wasn’t really firing out. And even he and Faraz talked to me about being so surprised.”

Fortunately for him, Woodley picked up a golden opportunity to prove himself in another big fight when Hector Lombard was forced out of his UFC Fight Night 48 match-up with surging No. 10-ranked Dong Hyun Kim from Macau this August 23. Woodley feels he’ll be fighting in hostile territory, but he just wants to redeem himself:

“Everyone who knows me and knows what I’m capable of knows that I didn’t perform in my last outing. (Fighting Kim) gives me a chance to go out there and redeem myself against another top-10 welterweight. Going into someone else’s backyard again, I mean I know it’s ways from Korea, but it’s still closer than me. I plan on just going out there and having fun.”

With his next chance to prove himself on the grand stage looming large, the pressure will be on Woodley to perform. If he doesn’t, he’ll continue to be brandished a talented and powerful fighter who fails to deliver in big fights. Will he silence his critics by defeating “Stun Gun?”

Photo: Anne-Marie Sorvin for USA TODAY Sports