Woodley On Garry's Persona After UFC 330 Loss

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says Ian Machado Garry exemplifies a sport where fighters shape themselves around public perception rather than authentic personalities.

Woodley, who faces Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12 on August 22, weighed in on Garry's recent welterweight title loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 330. While calling the Irishman a solid fighter, Woodley told Bowks Talking Bouts that modern MMA has shifted away from the genuine characters that defined his era.

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Woodley Says Fighters Chase What Others Want

"I think we're in such a weird time of the sport where people are just doing so much of what they think others want them to do and don't want them to do," Woodley said, per BJ Penn. "In my era, we were ourselves. Like everybody didn't like the way that I was champion. They didn't like the way I was outspoken and I stood on what I believed. But I feel like Conor was his own person and Ronda was her own person."

Woodley added that Jon Jones and other stars from that generation maintained individual identities, contrasting with current fighters who face constant public input on how champions should behave. He noted that most critics offering advice have never won titles themselves.

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Garry, 28, dropped a decision to Makhachev on August 15 but released a video statement saying he felt great about his performance. "Islam was just better than me tonight and that's OK," he said, according to MMA Fighting. "I just fought maybe the greatest fighter we've ever seen in this sport and I pushed him to the wire."

Garry indicated the loss would not derail his championship pursuit and described himself as bulletproof mentally despite the setback.

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• BJPenn — Ian Machado Garry shows “we’re in such a weird time of the sport”, per Tyron Woodley