By: Hans Themistode
Tyron Woodley had a wildly successful career in mixed martial arts. In just over a decade, the St. Louis, Missouri, fought the best in the steel cage, and more times than not, his hand was raised in victory. But while his time in the octagon will likely lead to a Walk of Fame destination, his professional boxing career hasn’t lived up to his expectations.
For the second time in about four months, Woodley went up against social media star turned professional boxer, Jake Paul. After a decisive loss at the end of August, Woodley attempted to atone this past weekend at Amalie Arena, in Tampa, Florida.
From the very beginning, Woodley fought Paul on parity terms. But, in a flash, the former YouTuber became a Knockout of the Year contender, roughly stopping Woodley in the sixth round.
Despite the odds in the squared circle and four months before his 40th birthday, Woodley does not see the light of retirement at the end of his tunnel. In fact, for those who mourned the former UFC star’s predestined relationship too soon, Woodley didn’t care about the sad faces and tearful pats on the back.
“I’m not done yet,” Woodley said after the knockout loss. “Please don’t look at me with sad eyes. Please don’t look at me and shake your head. I amused a lot of people. A lot of people had to talk about it in the dressing room. A lot of coaches have had to go back to the drawing board. It broke their hearts when I took that from them.”
Although Woodley’s goal was to even score Paul and force them to play three games, his knock-out defeat changed his future plans somewhat….
After his fourth straight loss at the UFC, Woodley was subsequently dropped from the roster. Currently, the soon-to-be 40-year-old is an advertising freelancer and has the freedom to do whatever he wants.
Though millions upon millions of dollars are lying safely in his bank account and a likely golden jacket awaits him as he gives up combat sports for good, Woodley believes that his rivalry with Paul revived him.
“That hungry bull was in that frenzy in the UFC and Strikeforce and all these different organizations are back.”
As for what Woodley plans to do next, that’s an unclear question. While he’s built his name and legacy in the octagon, he hasn’t ruled out a return to the ring. In the end, Woodley simply wanted to keep fighting for as long as possible.
“I just want to fight humans. I plan to fight four times in the next year. This does not change the plan”.
