Woodley On Depression After Usman Loss

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says he fell into a deep depression after Kamaru Usman ended his title reign in 2019.

Woodley had strung together seven straight victories and four title defenses when he faced Usman at UFC 235, but the challenger dominated across five rounds to claim the belt via unanimous decision. Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Woodley said the loss made him feel like a laughingstock inside and outside the promotion, per Sherdog. "Rock bottom is when I thought everybody was laughing at me," Woodley said. "I thought the UFC was laughing at me. Usman was laughing at me."

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Financial Troubles and Personal Turmoil Compounded the Spiral

Woodley revealed that his title reign coincided with a divorce, spending habits that ran $40,000 a month, and other personal chaos. The loss to Usman felt like all his critics finally got what they wanted after he had gone three years without dropping a round, let alone a fight. He credited UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson with trying to pull him out of the spiral.

The former champion never won another UFC bout, exiting the promotion in 2021 on a four-fight skid. He then dropped three straight boxing matches, including a knockout defeat to Jake Paul, before finally returning to the win column with a wrestling victory over Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12. Woodley told Helwani that beating Buckley ended the mental torment: "After I beat Buckley, I'm like, finally, it's over with."

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Woodley most recently suffered a pinfall loss in a wrestling match against Khamzat Chimaev at RAF Moscow earlier this month.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Tyron Woodley details ‘rock bottom’ after losing UFC title to Kamaru Usman