LAS VEGAS – Tyron Woodley won his rematch with Stephen Thompson on Saturday in the main event of UFC 209, retaining the welterweight title in a bout that will be remembered for the lack of action and the lusty boos of the crowd.
The two fought to a majority draw on Nov. 12 in New York at UFC 205 in a bout filled with back-and-forth action.
This match had none of that.
It will go down in history along with other championship fight duds like Tim Sylvia-Andrei Arlovski, Tito Ortiz-Vladimir Matyushenko and Anderson Silva-Thales Leites as among the least-exciting the company has ever staged.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The only serious action of the fight came in the final 30 seconds when Woodley landed a straight right hand that dumped Thompson. Woodley pounced on him and went for the finish, and referee John McCarthy was watching carefully, prepared to stop it.” data-reactid=”18″>The only serious action of the fight came in the final 30 seconds when Woodley landed a straight right hand that dumped Thompson. Woodley pounced on him and went for the finish, and referee John McCarthy was watching carefully, prepared to stop it.
But little happened in the fight and Woodley was unable to land the punch or two he needed to make it a definitive finish.
The crowd implored them several times in the second half of the fight to pick up the pace, chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Both men, though, were wary of the other and never engaged. Woodley circled relentlessly, keeping his back against the cage and not often venturing to the center. Thompson stalked, but threw surprisingly few punches and didn’t cut off the cage.
The result was a dull fight that looked even worse given the hotly anticipated interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov was canceled when Nurmagomedov was hospitalized when he turned ill during his weight cut.
That bout was arguably the best fight the UFC could have made, and there was great disappointment when it was dropped from the card.
And it looked worse when Woodley and Thompson failed to deliver a satisfying main event. Two judges had it 48-47 for Woodley, while the third scored it 47-47. Yahoo Sports had it a draw, scoring it 48-48.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Woodley was hoping to parlay an impressive victory over Thompson, an elite kickboxer, into a big-money fight. But he did himself no favors on Saturday, fighting cautiously and not firing his trademark overhand right.” data-reactid=”25″>Woodley was hoping to parlay an impressive victory over Thompson, an elite kickboxer, into a big-money fight. But he did himself no favors on Saturday, fighting cautiously and not firing his trademark overhand right.
Thompson, though, was just as guilty as Woodley for the lack of action. He has the best variety of kicks in the business, but rarely used them, content it seemed to follow Woodley in circles around the cage.
There were numerous compelling bouts on the cards, including Darren Elkins’ dramatic come-from-behind TKO of Mirsad Bektic in the third round of their featherweight bout.
Bektic absolutely pummeled Elkins for 2½ rounds and was on the verge of a win several times, as blood poured from several wounds on Elkins’ face. But Elkins fought back and ended the match with a kick to the face, as the crowd roared.
It was one of the best come-from-behind wins in UFC history.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Alistair Overeem kept himself relevant in the heavyweight division, stopping Mark Hunt with a vicious knee in the second. And in a lightweight bout, David Teymur bested Lando Vannata in a sensational match.” data-reactid=”30″>Alistair Overeem kept himself relevant in the heavyweight division, stopping Mark Hunt with a vicious knee in the second. And in a lightweight bout, David Teymur bested Lando Vannata in a sensational match.
All of that was missing, though, from the main event, and the crowd did little but jeer and boo.
It’s hard to imagine either will get a warm welcome when they return to the Octagon.
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