Saturday night at UFC 209, Tyron Woodley defends his Welterweight Title against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in a rematch from their previous majority draw at UFC 205 last year.
Current Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping discussed the fight on this week’s “UFC Tonight” on FS1 yesterday.
•Woodley’s keys to victory: “In the first fight, Tyron was successful with his right hand. He actually dropped Wonderboy with that. But he wasn’t busy enough. This time he has to push forward, close the distance, and get a takedown. In the first fight, he landed a takedown in the first round and held him down the whole round. Woodley should use the right hand to set up the takedown.”
•Thompson’s keys to victory: “First, Thompson has to stop the takedown. Then, he has to use his footwork, which will help stop the takedown, and use the space in the Octagon. And finally, he’s got to vary his attack. He has an array of striking and has to use them.”
•Prediction: “I think Woodley will learn from the first fight. He’ll push forward more and get the takedowns.”
Kenny Florian on the same program provided his analysis and prediction.
•Woodley’s keys to victory: “Tyron needs to be busy with takedowns, but not too busy. More than anything else, if Wonderboy expects the takedown, it shuts down his offense. So the threat of the takedown will serve Tyron well… Key number one, Woodley has got to utilize the feints. Key two, he’s got to land the takedowns. And three, he’s got to throw counterstrikes. He’s got to counter-strike the counter striker.”
•Thompson’s keys to victory: “Thompson does very well establishing range with his kicks and he uses many different kicks. He needs more volume in this fight. In the last fight, he didn’t throw enough volume at Woodley.”
•Prediction: “I think seeing Thompson for 25 minutes in the first fight is a big advantage for Woodley. He’ll make some nice adjustments.”
WATCH THE VIDEO CLIP FROM FS1 HERE.
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/video/887801411659
CHECK OUT THIS RELATED STORY: UFC 209 PRIMER: Woodley vs. Thompson for Welterweight Title, Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson, Overeem vs. Hunt, Rashad Evans
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