Woodley Offers To Help Buckley Win UFC Gold

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley rallied from an early deficit to beat Joaquin Buckley in a wrestling match at RAF 12 in Cleveland, then told the middleweight he knows how to get him to a title.

Buckley missed weight by seven pounds and jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first period, but Woodley clawed back to win 14-8. Afterward, Woodley told MMA Fighting he sees championship potential in Buckley despite the middleweight dropping consecutive fights to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady.

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Woodley Invokes Late Coach Duke Roufus

Woodley drew on a lesson from his late coach Duke Roufus when explaining how he could help Buckley optimize his skill set. "Duke Roufus, bless his soul, was like, 'I'm not your striking coach; I'm your winning coach,'" Woodley said. "He took my tools and my attributes and he showed me how to make fighting a little bit easier. I know I can do that for Joaquin. If he really wants to take me up on that. And I feel like he has what it takes to be a UFC champ."

Buckley rode a six-fight winning streak in 2024 before hitting his current skid. Woodley defended the welterweight strap four times before losing to Usman in 2019, then left the UFC on a four-fight slump in 2021. He competed in boxing bouts before his RAF debut and is scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev in a wrestling match at RAF Moscow on Sept. 5.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Tyron Woodley beats Joaquin Buckley, then offers to help him win UFC gold