UFC’s Tyron Woodley hopes to go from ‘La La Land’ to ‘Moonlight’ — VIDEO
The UFC welterweight champion didn’t watch the Academy Awards on Sunday night.
He hasn’t seen “La La Land,” either, although he has a pretty good idea of what the cast and crew were going through during the debacle that was the best picture announcement.
“Yeah, I heard they had another Steve Harvey slash Bruce Buffer and Tyron Woodley moment,” Woodley said Thursday of the ill-fated snafu.
“La La Land” was mistakenly announced as the winner, only to have the producers notified during their speeches that “Moonlight” was the actual Oscar winner. The chaos onstage was reminiscent of Woodley’s last fight against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in November at Madison Square Garden.
Ring announcer Bruce Buffer called out the scores and proclaimed Woodley as the winner. His victory interview was interrupted, however, when New York State Athletic Commission officials realized the fight actually had been scored a draw.
With UFC and commission officials scrambling about the cage trying to clear up the confusion, Woodley stood in shock as he gripped his belt.
“I (was afraid) they were going to say he won,” Woodley said. “I was mad when it became a draw, but I would have been devastated if they would have said he won.”
Woodley and Thompson will meet again in the main event of UFC 209 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. It’s a chance for the champion to finally put the division’s top contender behind him after believing he had already done it.
The pay-per-view card also features an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Woodley believes he should have won on the scorecards but really laments not finishing Thompson. He knocked the challenger down several times in the fourth round and almost secured a guillotine before Thompson escaped.
“My takeaway was I had additional opportunities in that fight beyond the ones you saw me capitalize on to put him away in that fight, so in this fight, I won’t miss those opportunities,” Woodley said.
Woodley, 34, was a two-time All-America wrestler at Missouri. He gained confidence from his success against Thompson’s flashy karate style in the first meeting.
The champion is unconcerned with Thompson’s ability to translate the lessons he might have learned from the first fight into a victory in the rematch.
“I guess he’s going to develop Division I wrestling in six weeks and earn his black belt in jiu-jitsu and take me down and submit me,” Woodley said. “He’s probably going to do more of what he knows how to do. You can mix up your rhythm and your combinations and the way you approach your striking, but you’re still going to come out and be a striker.
“I think it’s safe to say I outstruck him, and he’s supposed to be the most creative striker in the division. I know I can outwrestle him and outgrapple him. I think I just need to be patient. When the time comes to finish it, I’ll do it whether it’s a knockout or a choke.”
Woodley, who won the belt with a knockout of Robbie Lawler in July, hopes dispatching of Thompson is a steppingstone to his ultimate goal of being recognized as the greatest welterweight in UFC history.
That would require knocking from that perch Georges St. Pierre, who is coming out of retirement. Woodley believes he has the best chance to do it.
“When I say that (I’m the best welterweight ever), I possess all the tools,” Woodley said. “On paper and technically and physically and with power and wrestling and jiu-jitsu and just grit and toughness. I am the best welterweight, but I do need the opportunity to prove it against Georges and the other top welterweights. When I retire, I will have that recognition I deserve
“Georges is a big part of cementing my legacy, and beating Wonderboy opens up those doors.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.