Issue 115

June 2014

In a classic matchup between well-rounded striker and wrestler, which welterweight will earn the right to challenge champion Johny Hendricks?

Overshadowing UFC 174’s flyweight title main event is a hugely important clash between top contenders in one of the promotion’s traditional glamor divisions. Coming off victories over a pair of former title challengers, Rory MacDonald (16-2) and Tyron Woodley (13-2) will battle over the likely next shot at heavy-handed champion Johny Hendricks. 

Either would be a deserving challenger, but an impressive victory here will prove they are a very genuine threat for ‘Big Rigg.’

The fact MacDonald is perennially described as ‘gifted’ and Woodley ‘athletic’ is down to more than just lazy writing. You can’t watch a MacDonald fight without being reminded he’s one of a new breed of fighters who began training in all disciplines as a teenager. Nor can you watch one where he doesn’t impress with his accurate striking and tactical skills in any position.

Former NCAA All-American wrestler Woodley has been collecting championships since high school. And you simply don’t win so many amateur wrestling accolades without being a great, committed athlete.

Both men were touted as future superstars and champions early in their careers. Woodley was attracting attention from his earliest fights as a regular of the new talent-focused Strikeforce Challengers shows in ‘09. 

With a 3-2 record in his last five outings, Woodley has largely impressed. Many feared a dull fight for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight crown when he faced Nate Marquardt in July 2012 but even though he lost by TKO in the fourth round, Woodley put in one of his most thrilling, well-rounded performances.  

A rapid-fire UFC debut saw him blitz Jay Hieron in 36 seconds but a horrendous UFC 161 split-decision loss against Jake Shields left neither man looking like much of a winner and everyone in attendance feeling like the loser. 

A first-round destruction of fading contender Josh Koscheck proved he could finish fights against high-caliber opponents and he looked very good during his TKO win over Carlos Condit, although questions remain about what would have happened had Condit not suffered a freak, fight-ending knee injury.

After a winning UFC debut aged just 20, MacDonald looked superb in his June 2010 fight with Condit, his and Woodley’s only common opponent. He lost that fight, well on the way to a decision win, when the more experienced, ever-dangerous Condit took over late in the third and finished it with just seconds remaining.  

The audience were furious, but MacDonald, his face badly misshapen, noted: “It was a just stoppage, he was kicking my ass.” MacDonald looked tremendous throughout 2011 and 2012, outclassing Nate Diaz, Mike Pyle, Che Mills and sentimental favorite BJ Penn. His clinical three-round battering of the former champion earned him plenty of boos but widespread acclaim.  

However, his awful, horridly over-cautious win against Jake Ellenberger last year won him no admirers and raised a lot of questions. Dropping a close decision to Robbie Lawler at UFC 167, MacDonald lost the fight in the third when Lawler hurt him and just seemed far more motivated and aggressive.  

Last time out MacDonald survived a tough first round on the mat with Demian Maia and then punished the highly decorated grappler in the last two stanzas with some of the best striking of his career to earn an obvious decision win.

So what can we expect from this fight? Three full rounds, probably. MacDonald’s last four have gone the distance and while Woodley has a good finishing percentage, MacDonald has only been stopped the once. The fight is fascinating and important but it could also be very dull.  

Too often, Woodley has taken a safety-first approach, grinding out wins with his wrestling and suffocating clinch work, unwilling to really go for the finish. See the Shields fight if you really must, or his Strikeforce decisions over Tarec Saffiedine and Paul Daley for proof.  

Boring wins are rarely rewarded with title shots so for the sake of their own careers and fan enjoyment, let’s hope the Woodley of the Shields fight, or the MacDonald who danced around Ellenberger, don’t show up in Vancouver.