GSP was always the more explosive guy against everyone he ever fought. He relied on it a lot.
Now, he's 35. He's had a knee surgery. And Tyron is more explosive than even athletically prime GSP was. I think that GSP might be worried about that.
No, prime Koschek was more explosive, and prime Hughes as explosive. Hughes was past his prime when GSP beat him though. GSP is now a long way from being as explosive as he once was - partly because of his knee, partly because of age, but most of all because he sat on his butt doing nothing for four years. There are all sorts of studies on retired athletes showing how quickly they love muscle mass (especially fast twitch muscle) when they retire. GSP was retired for four years, he's a shadow of what he was (the proof of that is how slow he looked against Bisping - and how out of shape, he was tired after one round).
What worries GSP about Woodley is his small PPV numbers. Anyone who thinks this is about anything but money is naive. Its about money for GSP (he's clearly only back for the money), for Woodley (GSP hasn't fought as a WW in five years, hasn't earned a WW title shot, the only reason Woodley wants to fight him is because GSP is a big PPV draw).
GSP should have to work his way back up the WW ladder, Woodley should want to fight the number one WW contender. That's the way it would work in any other sport. If Usain Bolt decides he wants to come out of retirement in four years for the next Olympics, he's going to have to qualify like everyone else; no one is giving him a bye into the 100 meter finals. But the money in fighting GSP is far too big, and Woodley wants a piece of that.
And you know what? There's nothing wrong in GSP or Woodley wanting to make as much money as possible before they retire. They're both in the their mid-30's, and only have a few years left. Do you think Dana White is going to bail them out if they go broke after retiring? Sports Illustrated had an article a few years back on all the athletes who retired as millionaires (and in some cases after earning more than 100 million), who were broke, some even living on the street. And no organization - not the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB gave them a pension or helped them out.
Athletes rarely have a second skill. Do you think GSP or Woodley could go back to school and become a lawyer or doctor or dentist or engineer? This is the end of their earning days. After this they're only qualified to flip burgers. So of course its all about money for them; they'd be stupid to fight for any other reason at this point.
