MMA
Tyron Woodley Sounds Off on Jack Della Maddalena and Makhachev While Backing His Era of Welterweights
Georges St-Pierre once remarked that every generation of fighters will inevitably be surpassed by the next, not necessarily because of their talent, but because advancements in training, facilities, and methodologies give the new crop a sharper edge. Fighters evolve by learning from their predecessors, refining old techniques, and adding new layers to their game. But not everyone agrees with that philosophy. Tyron Woodley recently pushed back on the idea. According to the former welterweight kingpin, today’s reigning champion, Jack Della Maddalena, wouldn’t be able to handle the level of competition Woodley’s generation of 170-pounders brought to the Octagon.
Tyron Woodley Believes Jack Della Maddalena Would Not Be a Champion in His Era
Woodley is perhaps one of the greatest 170lbs champions in UFC history. ‘T-Wood’ famously stopped Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 to win the gold in July 2016. His reign saw him retain his belt against the likes of Stephen Thompson (twice), Demian Maia, and Darren Till. He finally lost his strap to perhaps the best 170fer in company history in the form of Kamaru Usman in March 2019.
So Woodley’s era definitely had many all-timers, and this is the reason ‘T-Wood’ believes that Jack Della Maddalena wouldn’t be able to get through many of Woodley’s contemporaries. “He wouldn’t even have been in my crosshairs,” Woodley argued in an interview with Action Network.
He added, “I wouldn’t have been looking at him in the scope. He wouldn’t have gone through Carlos (Condit). He definitely wouldn’t have gotten through Robbie (Lawler). ‘Wonderboy’ (Thompson) does better against pure strikers than all of us.”
Although Woodley gave credit to JDM for being a good fighter, he still remained adamant that the Aussie wouldn’t have been close to winning the title 10 years back. The former kingpin added, “His timing and his abilities, just to get in-out real quick, he would have beat him. I think he’s a good fighter. I never take away from people. It’s hard to win a championship just because there’s so much pressure.”
He concluded his point with, “But I can just think of ten people in my division at that time that was the champion that would have beat him.”
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For the unversed, JDM recently dethroned Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in Canada to win the welterweight belt. Moreover, he is slated to defend his strap against Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 later this year in what could very well snap his 18-fight winning streak. Talking about Makhachev, Woodley also had something to say about the Dagestani as well.
Tyron Woodley Predicts Islam Makhachev to Beat JDM but Doesn’t See Him Winning Against ‘T-Wood’
Talking about Makhachev, Woodley believes that the Dagestani would dethrone the Australian and capture the welterweight title. The former 170-pound king believes that, unlike JDM, Makhachev’s wrestling would have allowed him to hold his own in that division.
However, Woodley also thinks that certain fighters from his time, himself included, would have posed serious problems for the Dagestani star. “I think Islam wins. But once again, if Islam came up (in weight) and we were sitting there (in my era), he’s not winning. I think he would give a better match just because of his wrestling ability. He would have given ‘Wonderboy’ problems, he would have given Robbie problems, just because of his wrestling.”
January 18, 2025, Inglewood, California, USA: ISLAM MAKHACHEV 27-1-0 of Makhachkala, Russia defeats RENATO MOICANO 20-6-1 of Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil by submission DÃââ Arce choke at 4:05 of round 1 during UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California Inglewood USA – ZUMAo117 20250118_zsp_o117_045 Copyright: xMikaelxOnax
However, Woodley predicted that Makhachev would have struggled with wrestling heavy fighters like Johny Hendricks and GSP. “But if you put Islam Makhachev against Johny Hendricks, he gets knocked out. You put him against me, I think he gets beat and potentially knocked out. Islam might do OK against GSP, because of the wrestling, but just stylistically, the heavy-handed wrestlers that were in that era, he would have a problem with.”
So what do you think? Do you see JDM winning the gold against the likes of GSP, Woodley, and Lawler? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!
