Woodley is if anything overrated. He'd get thumped at 185lbs real bad, he has power but so do guys like Jacare, Weidman, Rockhold, Costa, Whittaker, Gastelum, Adesanya etc. The difference is at 185lbs all those guys have dealt with and are much more comfortable with the kind of power Woodley has, but Woodley lacks punch and strike selection. Woodley counter strikes out of necessity more than skill because 1. He doesn't have the technique to really put combos together, he always has pot shotted and 2. He doesn't have the conditioning to have the kind of output Middleweights do. He's giving up a lot of size and range, his wrestling would be a lot less effective too. Gastelums technique, pace and combination skills in conjunction with his toughness, speed and cardio are why he's found success at 185lbs. Woodley is not comparable in these ways.
Woodley was out classed by Rory, he lost to Shields, he went on a 3 fight win streak and then sat out for over 12 month whining for a title shot until he got it. He beat a severely battleworn Lawler. He foUght Thompson twice to a draw and a majority decision that was pathetic. He had a starring contest with A 40 year old Maia and beat up a very green British prospect. People act like Woodleys run is something to Rival GSPs who was out there fighting all time greats in their prime like Hughes and Penn on multiple occasions, he ran through a gauntlet of contenders who proved themselves in big ways at the time and beat legends in their prime. Decisively.
Also Woodley fought a 21 year old Gastelum who had a really bad weight cut and it went to a split decision that I thought Kelvin deserved to win.
