Coach: Tyron Woodley wasn’t aware after knockout, thought it was in-between rounds
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley suffered a brutal and devastating knockout at the hands of Jake Paul in their boxing rematch last weekend, making him 0-2 in their two meetings. While many mocked the former UFC champion, he should be commended for how he’s handled the loss, including showing up to the post-fight press conference and even holding a fan contest where he rewarded $5,000 to the winner of a meme contest making fun of his loss.
However, not all was fun and games for Tyron Woodley immediately after the knockout as his coach Din Thomas noted this week. During his weekly radio show on Sirius XM’s Fight Nation, ‘MMA Today’ Thomas discussed Woodley’s immediate response and reaction to the knockout, saying the former champion was somewhat lost in the immediate aftermath. Before talking about the knockout, Thomas addressed the internet rumors that the fight was fixed, and scoffed at the idea that Woodley took a dive in the rematch against Paul.
"Right when it [the knockout] happened, he didn't even know….he thought it was in between rounds."
@DinThomas gives us a behind the scenes look into #PaulWoodley2 after cornering Tyron Woodley this past weekend @RJcliffordMMA pic.twitter.com/aAJU1QPpym
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) December 23, 2021
“That whole theory it makes me laugh because being in his camp, I know how serious it was. It was serious, Tyron really wanted this win back, he really wanted this fight, it was a serious thing. Now if it was a dive, I wish they told me about it because I would’ve just shown up the night of and just been partying but that wasn’t the case, it was a real legit fight.”
As for the reaction from Tyron Woodley following his loss, Din Thomas said he feels there was a series of different emotions for the former champion, including not realizing that the knockout had just occurred.
“I think there was a series of different emotions, I remember standing inside the ring as soon as it happened and he was like ‘No, no, when do I go back out?’ So he didn’t even know, right when it happened he thought it was in-between rounds and I’m sure he was wondering why everybody was standing inside the ring. So he didn’t even know in that moment. That’s what it was in the beginning it was disbelief, you couldn’t believe that that just happened.”
Once Woodley and his team made their way to the back and inside the locker room, Thomas said that there was a feeling of overall disappointment.
“Everybody on the whole team was just disappointed like ‘Oh I can’t believe this just happened’ even him, he was just going back-and-forth.”
Although the night did not go according to plan for Tyron Woodley and his team, Thomas shared an encounter that took place in the locker room that changed the entire atmosphere. Lonnie Howard of High Rollerz BJJ was in the back with his daughter following Woodley’s loss and Thomas said that when Woodley saw Howard’s daughter, the entire vibe changed after he reassured his daughter that he was okay despite the knockout.
