#4 ranked welterweight Tyron "The Chosen One" Woodley (15-3) will face current welterweight Champion, Robbie "Ruthless" Lawler (26-10) on July 30th in Atlanta, GA as the MAIN event of the evening.
What we know about Tyron Woodley
The All-American Wrestler from the University of Missouri plans on showing up to UFC 201 with his game face ready to go. He believes that this is really his time now and the belt will be his at the end of the night.
Tyron has been a talent since his Strikeforce debut against, Sir Skrap Pack member, Jake Shields (29-7-1), and got a submission within the first round.
Back in 2014, he broke his foot in 4 different places and as a result, he had to sit out for most of 2015. From there he became a fight analyst. The skills from doing that allowed him to break down any fighter, including his opponents. Now that he is healed up he is more determined to make up the time lost from fighting in the octagon.
A very memorable fight was back in January 2015 at UFC 183 where Woodley fought against #6 ranked welterweight Kevin Gastelum (13-2).
Gastelum was undefeated at the time and Tyron came in that cage and dominated in a VERY close fight. He ended up winning by a split decision in the end, but that fight gave him a lot of praise.
"The Chosen One" is a VERY explosive fighter. We have seen him fight like that for the longest and it has worked in his favor almost every other time.
Right after that he completely TKOs Dong "Stun Gun" Hyun Kim (21-3) at UFC Fight Night 48 in the first round. It was beautiful. I just want more of that, please.
What we know about Robbie Lawler
It is to no surprise that Robbie Lawler is a TRUE Champion. He has successfully defended his belt many times and has come out with a win against some of the top guys right now in the welterweight division. He is "Ruthless" indeed as he doesn't believe in pressure before any of his fights.
He knows what he has to do so he goes in there and does just that. It is clear that with every fight he gives his absolute all. A prime example would be his fight against the former Interm welterweight Champion, Carlos Condit.
That was a five-round BRAWL TO THE END. This year started off right for this division because the fight speaks volumes for both fighters. They found until there was absolutely nothing left in their bodies to give. That night we saw Robbie Lawler dig deep within himself after the 4th going into the 5th.
Something came over him and he knew he needed to win that fight. He believes that he is the best and he should feel that. He hasn't proved us to think otherwise, right? Or maybe other fighters have just stepped up...
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT ALL THIS!?!
The reason why this fight matchup is so brilliant is that Woodley and Lawler aren't just opponents, THEY ARE TRAINING PARTNERS. They have trained together at American Top Team, so they know a lot about each others fighting styles because they had a chance to grow and learn next one another.
Even with a talent to deconstruct fighters that Wooley has.
Both of these fighters are explosive and will do everything they can to win. Both fighters don't play it safe, to begin with. The standup game is strong, however, there is a fighter I feel who wants it juuuuuust a little bit more...
The night on July 30th I really do feel we are going to have a new welterweight Champion. Do I believe Lawler isn't worthy of a TKO win against Wooley?
Absolutely not.
What I am saying is, on this particular night for the belt Tyron is going to step on a new level that we as MMA enthusiasts haven't seen before. And the level he is on RIGHT NOW already passes some of the top fighters on that scale.
I can predict the fight going all five rounds and "The Chosen One" will get his hand raised by decision and I can't wait to watch.