At the UFC 235 press conference, Tyron Woodley asked Kamaru Usman directly how he plans on beating him at UFC 235. He’s heard Kamaru Usman say a lot since that moment, but none of those utterances have been a satisfying answer to the question posed: (Transcript via MMA Fighting)
“He says a lot of stuff and sometimes when people talk too much, they’re trying to reassure themselves,” Woodley said at a media scrum Monday. “You haven’t heard me talk about Usman.”
“I just wanted Usman to tell me how he’s going to beat me,” Woodley said impatiently. “‘Cause like I said before, Dong Hyun Kim is a judo master who wasn’t a striker. You look at guys like [Stephen] Thompson. Thompson was knocking out … Robert Whittaker fell victim to him, a lot of guys did. And [Usman] doesn’t bring that specialty in any category.”
Woodley’s perplexity regarding Usman’s path to victory does not mean he does not acknowledge that Usman is a very talented fighter, but he believes that when juxtaposed to Woodley’s résumé and the strengths that he possesses, it is difficult to find the answer to how Usman expects to win Saturday night:
“Yes he was a Division II NCAA champ,” Woodley said. “I’m not taking that away from him, but please do not act like that is Division I NCAA champ. It’s a different concept, it’s a different mentality, and it’s a different thing. So when I am competing with guys like [Josh] Koscheck who is a two-time NCAA Division I champion that scored zero takedowns, that had better striking, I just wanted him to really tell me how he’s going to win the fight.”
What do you believe is Kamaru Usman’s path to victory is against Tyron Woodley at UFC 235?
