Opinion: Tyron Woodley, Champion, Shot Caller, Possible Genius

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.* * * Just minutes after Tyron Woodley brutally clobbered Robbie Lawler to take the UFC welterweight crown at UFC 201 in Atlanta, I was preparing to do “Beatdown After the Bell” and quickly thought to myself, “What’s next, where do we go from here?” since Woodley-Lawler hardly seemed to call for the oft-employed immediate championship rematch. Then, I remembered Stephen Thompson and his sensational seven-fight UFC winning streak were sitting in the Fox Sports 1 studio all night long. Whoops, my apologies to “Wonderboy,” just a simple slip of the mind. And then, Tyron Woodley, not an hour removed from the nuclear right hand that melted Lawler and getting the belt put on his waist, did this: From the studio desk, Thompson tried his best to call out Woodley for a title shot, despite his impeccable manners and slight embarrassment about picking Lawler before the bout. As he sheepishly finished his plea to the new champ, Woodley was all over him, interjecting with a defiant “Here’s what I think!” before telling Thompson that he could have his wish of fighting Robbie Lawler on an undercard somewhere, because he wanted to fight Nick Diaz, who was still one day away from even being eligible to fight again after his UFC 183 debacle 18 months ago. On the live cable split screen, Thompson pursed his lips and grimaced slightly while Woodley used the microphone on his headset as a metaphorical hammer to smash the dreams of “Wonderboy” in front of his face on a TV monitor. Normally, you can’t say what an athlete will be like as a champion, promotionally or competitively, until they actually start trying to defend and reign. Within 60 minutes, I was convinced that Woodley’s championship tenure, however long it might last, will be about getting paid. As UFC welterweight champion, Woodley clearly sees his chance to go into business for himself and really, it makes all the sense in the world. First of all, it’s highly rational and explainable from a personal perspective: Woodley started fighting as an amateur in 2006, has now been a pro for nearly seven years and he’s 34 years old. He’s got a family of his own and a giant extended familial circle, as Woodley was born the 11th of 13 children to his parents. He’s UFC champion and has a regular gig on cable TV as an analyst to boot; there’s never been a …

continue reading in source www.sherdog.com