What makes someone the greatest of all time? It is a question that will never have a uniform answer, and part of that is because of the difference in skill level between eras. In a recent interview with ESPN, Georges St-Pierre stated that it is for this reason why the idea of “greatest of all time” does not actually exist, because each era brings in a higher talent level than the previous generation, so it is unfair to compare generations. Tyron Woodley seems to agree and disagree with St-Pierre.
Woodley agrees that this generation of welterweights is more talented than when St-Pierre was reigning over the division, but he vehemently disagrees that this nullifies the concept of a greatest of all time. On the contrary, he believes it proves that, right now, the greatest welterweight of all time is him:
“Man, I’m right there,” Woodley told ESPN in a media day interview regarding where he stands in the welterweight GOAT conversation. “I don’t have to do as many title fights as he did to prove that because I’m fighting the best of the best in the sport at the best time of the sport.
“This is when the guys are well-rounded, and everybody knows how to do everything. It’s not like you’re just fighting a kickboxer, or a grappler, or somebody that can kind of do one or two things. These guys are well conditioned, well trained, in great physical shape, and, just mentally, they’re prepared to take on all different angles of this fight. So I’m beating guys within that area, and I think it’s the toughest division in the world.”
The ability to “do everything” is exactly what Kamaru Usman believes he’s better at than Woodley. If Kamaru Usman proves to be right this Saturday at UFC 235, that would seem to do major harm to Tyron Woodley’s argument.
Do you agree with Tyron Woodley’s logic on what makes him the greatest welterweight of all time?
