Tyron Woodley isn’t afraid to admit he lived a lavish lifestyle as UFC welterweight champion.
Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler back in July 2016 to capture the 170-pound gold. “The Chosen One” ended up earning successful title defenses over Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia and Darren Till. Woodley finally lost his championship against Kamaru Usman back in March 2019.
Woodley Says He ‘Blew Through’ Money As UFC Champion
Woodley appeared on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show and admitted that he didn’t hesitate to spend money when he was the welterweight king (h/t Bloody Elbow).
“I blew through a lot of f*cking money, man,” Woodley told ESPN. “A lot. A lot of money. And I was—jewelry and VIP and all these experiences, all these things that came with the championship life. You really – when you come from where I come from – you never imagine making that type of money; you never imagine being in that type of position. You work hard for it – and I didn’t get there by accident because I was busting my ass – but nobody taught me finance.
“Everybody taught me 1+1 is 2. That’s math. That ain’t finance. That ain’t wealth, that ain’t investing, that ain’t saving, that ain’t tax. That’s basically: you made money and, f*cking, you spend it. Because when I was growing up, we spent it when it came in. My mom’s check was already cut up, it was done before she even got it. She had to pick which utility bills was not gonna be on that, that month. And it was something that I didn’t recognize, as a kid, that it wasn’t normal. I thought everybody had to do that.
“So, when you started making money? I bought, like, seven cars and, f*cking, two houses—and all these trips. And nobody ever lifted a f*cking hand when we was at a restaurant; 10-15 people went to dinner. And I was going to VIP clubs and all this sh*t, like, every other week. And I just imagined making that amount of money for a very long time. And they very quickly said, ‘Poof!’ Damn! I’m on it like, ‘You gonna tell me, March 3rd, that this is different? It’s not the same?’ And it’s just a lesson learned.”
Woodley is scheduled to meet Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC London on March 21.
