How Tyron Woodley Used Wrestling To Defend His UFC Title Against Darren Till
Former NCAA All American wrestler and current UFC champion Tyron Woodley recently had to defend his championship belt against undefeated British striker Darren Till at UFC 235. He was able to win, in large put using his wrestling skill that he developed as a Mizzou Tiger. Let's take a look at how this former wrestling used his takedowns and control to win this battle.
The first round opened fast with a combination, followed by a knee pick that Till pulled into a body lock with overhooks. Woodley pressured hard, brought him to the wall, and started working to trip and pummel harder for better position. The ref broke the position, and they struck from distance for a long stretch of the round. With about 90 seconds left, Woodley pumped a job and grabbed a single leg takedown that he moved to the clinch again. Till brought himself to the face to try to stay upright in the lock, and used it to reverse to a a more dominant position before the ref quickly stepped in again. Five minutes in, Woodley had established his wrestling as a threat and because of that, Till had no confidence in his power and accuracy.
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In the second round, Woodley came out and had adjusted with his corner's advice. Woodley dropped him with a straight right hand and swarmed from top, smashing with elbows and punches from top while stacking with his hips in a way that creates a huge amount of pressure from someone with that strong a grappling accumen. Woodley rode hard from the guard, never letting his opponent get comfortable underneath. He stepped over to half guard, a turk position that wrestlers tend to dominate from, and from there he pressured and smashed which made Till cover and roll up, which led to the fight ending darce choke. In the whole fight, Till only threw less than five total strikes, a horrible performance for a great striker, and it was all because of the takedown threats he dealt with from the wrestler.
Learn Wrestling From An Olympic Gold Medalist And UFC Champion!
