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.

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