UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley successfully defended his title Saturday night at UFC 209 in a rematch with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. It was a close majority decision that lacked much in the way of action until the fifth and final frame, something not lost on the crowd in attendance, who rained down heckles and jeers through much of the fight. It’s a result that certainly won’t help Woodley’s popularity as champion — or lack thereof — something that he previously attributed to race.
At the post-fight press conference at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile arena Saturday night, Woodley talked about life as champion — and surprisingly suggested that his life was actually better before he had the belt. The comment came up when Woodley was posed a rather innocuous question about his walkout music (“I Ain’t Turning Back” by Thi’sl). In response to what that song meant to him, Woodley stated
When I talk about carrying my shield and going into battle, and I think about all the distractions, all the ways out, all the people that want to see me lose, it’s a lot of pressure. You think you got this [UFC title belt], your life has changed. To be honest with you, my life was a little bit better before I had the belt.
Asked to elaborate, Woodley stated he needed to choose his words carefully.
It’s a lot of pressure as a champion. You’ve got to separate yourself. You want to be the best in the world, you want to wear the gold, it comes with a lot, it comes with a lot on your platter, a lot of expectations, a lot of obligations, and I feel like that at a certain level you have a duty and I feel like part of the time my duty is to be honest, if I see something that’s incorrect, speak on it, if I see something that’s right, congratulate that as well, and in our society everyone doesn’t like to hear the truth all the time and when you speak the truth sometimes people are either sensitive or insensitive, and as we all know I see all you guys quiet and don’t want to ask me the wrong questions, sometimes I get a little bad rap just for speaking things that I think are true.
Woodley, who admitted that it was a close fight, did not commit to who might be next in line for a shot against him, worried that it would create too much controversy. He did however state that he “feels good” and wasn’t injured, so fans could expect to see him back in action relatively soon. He also indicated he’d be watching the Demian Maia vs. Jorge Masvidal bout, which is looking more and more like a title eliminator.
