Tyron’s fight style is “genius” when it works and “stupid” when it doesn’t work

[Fatback96]

Woodley receives too much credit for his style and gameplanning when it works, and vice versa.

He fought his last 6 opponents in the same exact way, 2 of them wins, 3 losses, 1 draw.

In both Thompson fights, everyone called him a genius for sitting on the cage and doing nothing for 5 rounds and making Thompson be the pressure fighter. Yes this gameplan “worked”, if you want to call it that, but this wasn’t a premeditated gameplan. That’s just how Woodley fights every fight.

In the Maia fight, he fought the same exact way he did in the Thompson fight. He got hate that this fight was “boring”, but also received credit for his “smart” gameplan of sitting on the cage and doing nothing for 5 rounds. This wasn’t a gameplan, it was just his fighting style.

In the Till fight, he fought the same exact way he did in his last 3 title fights. Everyone called him a genius for his gameplan in this fight as well, even though Till threw 0 strikes in the 1st round. After Till’s corner told him to fight more aggressive, that’s when Woodley’s style worked.

In the Usman, Burns, and Colby fights, he fought the same exact way as all the other fights, except this time his style didn’t work and his lack of a gameplan (or inability to stick to a gameplan) hindered him because his opponents were perfectly made to beat him.

 

[Ramon Antonio]

I wouldn't even call it a style. It's almost similar to those NBA players who have that psychological thing where they can't release the ball during a free throw. He just freezes and can't throw a punch.

 

[Guy LeDouche]

Too bad it hasn’t worked in 15 rounds.
Woodley has all the athletic gifts, he’s checked out mentally. Any old coach will say the second your heart and head isn’t in it anymore...get out, because you are only going to get hurt chasing that “one more”.

 

[MakeSherdogGreatAgain]

He does tend to fight passively. He's been fighting that way for years. It backfires against pressure guys because he lets them get a rhythm going and gets overwhelmed and forced into just being defensive. He's at the point where he doesn't even try to give them something to think about though. The decline is very obvious.

 

[OmegaRugal]

It worked when he had the speed/reaction time but he is 38 years old and he lost just enough speed/reaction for it to no longer work.

There is a reason GSP retired at 32 years of age.
There is a reason Silva got KO'd at 38 years of age.
There is a reason Fedor is no longer that crazy unbeatable after 33 years of age.
There is a reason Jones doesn't look as good at 32 years of age.

GSP retired right when he felt his speed, cardio all suffering. Woodley at 38 years old can no longer fight as well as a counter fighter as he use to.

People get old and without TRT/PEDs ... they are just going to get worst and worst as they age.

 

[No Skill Gap]

It worked when he had the speed/reaction time but he is 38 years old and he lost just enough speed/reaction for it to no longer work.

There is a reason GSP retired at 32 years of age.
There is a reason Silva got KO'd at 38 years of age.
There is a reason Fedor is no longer that crazy unbeatable after 33 years of age.
There is a reason Jones doesn't look as good at 32 years of age.

GSP retired right when he felt his speed, cardio all suffering. Woodley at 38 years old can no longer fight as well as a counter fighter as he use to.

People get old and without TRT/PEDs ... they are just going to get worst and worst as they age.

Well GSP returned at age 36 off a four year layoff (*with colitis) and fought the MW champion at the time and won the MW title.

And it wouldn't surprise me AT ALL if Woodley was on something, not saying he is but it's possible. I do agree that Woodley is old as fuck for the 170lb division though. He was technically 36 years old when he lost to Usman, same age as GSP fighting Bisping.

I also think you could explain the other instances with factors beyond age, but obviously as people age they generally get worse. Specifically with Woodley a big part of the equation here is the fact he fought 3x pressure grapplers in a row, that also had arguably better striking or comparable skill-wise.

Maybe Woodley has lost some power or speed, can't pull the trigger. But it's pretty obvious his prior fights stylistically benefited him greatly - Lawler, Wonderboy x2, Maia, Till.

 

[C0NCH3TO]

He lost that snap in his punches. It’s supposed to happen anyway, the man is 38. That is OLD at welterweight.

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

Woodley receives too much credit for his style and gameplanning when it works, and vice versa.

He fought his last 6 opponents in the same exact way, 2 of them wins, 3 losses, 1 draw.

In both Thompson fights, everyone called him a genius for sitting on the cage and doing nothing for 5 rounds and making Thompson be the pressure fighter. Yes this gameplan “worked”, if you want to call it that, but this wasn’t a premeditated gameplan. That’s just how Woodley fights every fight.

In the Maia fight, he fought the same exact way he did in the Thompson fight. He got hate that this fight was “boring”, but also received credit for his “smart” gameplan of sitting on the cage and doing nothing for 5 rounds. This wasn’t a gameplan, it was just his fighting style.

In the Till fight, he fought the same exact way he did in his last 3 title fights. Everyone called him a genius for his gameplan in this fight as well, even though Till threw 0 strikes in the 1st round. After Till’s corner told him to fight more aggressive, that’s when Woodley’s style worked.

In the Usman, Burns, and Colby fights, he fought the same exact way as all the other fights, except this time his style didn’t work and his lack of a gameplan (or inability to stick to a gameplan) hindered him because his opponents were perfectly made to beat him.

His problem is that he’s giving the same look every time to fighters with very similar skill sets. Like, why would you change nothing about a complete and total failure of a gameplan vs usman and expect different results?

AND if what your saying is right, and it’s just his “style”, doesn’t that make it worse? Doesn’t that make him one dimensional? Fighting in a division full of cardio beasts and wrestlers, and being someone who needs 10+ minutes on the feet with medium pressure to do work is REALLY specific and not ideal.

 

[delbosque]

Or it's just stupid and sometimes it works anyway.

 

[Slatersan]

The lawler fight made Tyron think he could knock out everyone if he just hits them once.

 

[grimballer]

Don’t remember anybody praising him for his style...

His opponents were criticized for not doing anything to beat him since he’s the champ

In his last 7 fights the only good performance was against till where he finished him

All other fights he didn’t do anything and was just reacting to his opponent

 

[KoChang]

He's psychologically ruined and should retire. He doesn't really fight anyway, just moves around the outside of the cage doing zilch.

 

[RockyLockridge]

I honestly always saw it as stupid, he fights everyone with the same strategy. the right hand has bailed him out too many times.

 

[GrantB13]

It would be one thing if he did Anderson Silva shit and actually landed devastating counters, but he's sitting back waiting for "the big one" but then never takes the shot.

 

[Naught2Sixty]

To answer the thread title:

Yes, much like my finger banging technique.

 

[ninja boot]

his current style is retirement worthy

 

[Fatback96]

His problem is that he’s giving the same look every time to fighters with very similar skill sets. Like, why would you change nothing about a complete and total failure of a gameplan vs usman and expect different results?

AND if what your saying is right, and it’s just his “style”, doesn’t that make it worse? Doesn’t that make him one dimensional? Fighting in a division full of cardio beasts and wrestlers, and being someone who needs 10+ minutes on the feet with medium pressure to do work is REALLY specific and not ideal.

Yes it does make it worse, and one dimensional.

 

[OmegaRugal]

Well GSP returned at age 36 off a four year layoff (*with colitis) and fought the MW champion at the time and won the MW title.

And it wouldn't surprise me AT ALL if Woodley was on something, not saying he is but it's possible. I do agree that Woodley is old as fuck for the 170lb division though. He was technically 36 years old when he lost to Usman, same age as GSP fighting Bisping.

I also think you could explain the other instances with factors beyond age, but obviously as people age they generally get worse. Specifically with Woodley a big part of the equation here is the fact he fought 3x pressure grapplers in a row, that also had arguably better striking or comparable skill-wise.

Maybe Woodley has lost some power or speed, can't pull the trigger. But it's pretty obvious his prior fights stylistically benefited him greatly - Lawler, Wonderboy x2, Maia, Till.

GSP cherry picked the weakest MW champion of all time and got beat up in the process.

It was a good risk and it paid off but he wanted none of Romero or Whitaker.

I like how you pushed PEDs for Woodley when he fought under USADA and was at his best during USADA.

GSP fought one time under USADA and looked bad.

 

[Chubi]

He's old, and against pressure his striking arsenal is limited to an overhand right.

 

[sampuncher]

For me he reminds me a lot of Koscheck.

Koscheck was never the same after the GSP loss. That broken orbital fucked him, you'd see him in fights constantly rubbing and checking his eye even though there was no damage there.

Psychologically the same seems to happen for Woodley, he seems to freeze and can only string a few shots together before he instantly withdraws again.

It worked against Robbie, Wonderboy because they were always going to stand with him. Anyone that looks to take Woodley down he kinda gives up once that first takedown hits.