Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson Battle to Majority Draw at UFC 205

Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson Battle to Majority Draw at UFC 205

Nov 13, 2016 by Jose Youngs
Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson Battle to Majority Draw at UFC 205
With the tension in the air palpable, welterweight challenger Stephen Thompson immediately took the center of the Octagon as he looked to establish his signature karate stance as the champion, Tyron Woodley, bounced around from the outside.  After a lengthy feeling out process, Thompson attempted to connected with a side kick to the body. Woodley reacted by snatching Thompson’s leg out of their and driving him down into the canvas.

Working in half guard, Woodley looked to pass into the side control as his opponent squirmed underneath him. With little action happening, Woodley began to batter Thompson’s midsection with a barrage of strikes. As the round hit the one minute mark, Woodley continued to attack the ribs of his opponent as boo birds slowly trickled down from the rafters. With 10 seconds left in the round ,Woodley opened up Thompson with an elbow before standing up and plastering his abdomen with a series of powerful haymakers followed by several more to his bloodied face.

To open up the second frame, Woodley once again took the outside as he circled away from the kicks of his opponent. After a quick flurry from Thompson, Woodley evaded and pressed the action back into the fence.  After finally breaking free, Thompson spun and around and planted a spinning back kick to the Woodley’s mid-section, shoving the champion back into the fence. After narrowly evading a vicious haymaker from Woodley, Thompson attempted to close the gap with another flurry to close out the second round.

Finally finding his groove, Thompson continued to press the attack with quick, lunging combos. But every time he looked to find momentum, Woodley forced him back on his heels with a looping overhand right. As Woodley started to fade, Thompson connected with a hard one-two to the face of Woodley before sending him back into the fence with a left hook. After narrowly missing another spinning back heel kick, the fans quickly started showing support for Thompson. Woodley would quickly make up ground with a straight right to the face

With three rounds under their belt, Thompson connected with thunderous body kick followed by a lightning quick leg kick. Woodley responded with a powerful overhand right between the eyes of Thompson, sending the challenger crashing to the canvas. Sensing blood, Woodley swarmed as he unloaded a hurricane of punches and knees to his blooded opponent.

Somehow, Thompson made his way back to his feet and right into the guillotine of Woodley. With Thompson’s air supply rapidly running out, Woodley continued to crank on the neck. By some miracle, Thompson not only managed to survive the submission but escaped and closed out the fourth round on top as he rained  down blows upon the Woodley.

Right out of the gate, Thompson attempted a luning switch kick but could only connect with air as Woodley evaded and shook his head. As he continued to stalk Woodley across the canvas, Thompson attempted, and missed, another spinning back kick. With 10 seconds left in this thrilling spectacle, the fans rose to their feet as the two exhausted warriors limped to their corners.

But what came next can only described as one of the more bizarre instances in UFC championship history. After initially reading the decision a split decision in favor Woodley, the scores were quickly corrected to show the fight was actually a majority draw. Regardless, Woodley got to keep his belt no matter what, but will now have to rematch Thompsons at a later date to determine the true champion.