It remains to be decided for sure by the UFC where exactly the welterweight fight between former champion Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns is going to happen. While we wait for the logistics of the fight to get sorted out, you can read the bout’s preview below. Woodley is the slight favorite, thanks to his championship pedigree but you can’t discount Burns, who’s on a mean streak coming into this showdown.
It’s been a while since Woodley last saw action inside the octagon. That was in March of last year, when he got whooped in a unanimous decision loss to Kamaru Usman in UFC 235. With that loss, Woodley relented his UFC welterweight title to Usman, who remains as the division champion to this day. If Woodley wants to get another crack at Usman or get a title shot, he will have to prove that rust doesn’t matter to him at all when he takes on Burns in his next match. Nicknamed “The Chosen One,” Woodley is a fighter who knows how to win fights while standing up or wrestling. Woodley sports a 19-4-1 record, including seven wins via KO and five by way of submissions. Woodley could find it more advantageous for him to stand up and let his fists and feet fly against Burns, considering that the American has a three-inch reach advantage and 2.5-inch leg reach advantage. Woodley’s takedown defense is very good, to say the least, as only 8 percent of takedown attempts on him in the UFC have been successful.
While Woodley waited for over a year to get his next fight, Burns merely spent a little over two months to get his. Burns is coming off a sensational first-round knockout win over veteran Demian Maia last March at UFC Fight Night: Lee vs Oliveira. With that win, Burns has extended his winning streak to five fights. Burns, who is a top-10 challenger in the welterweight division has clearly gained serious steam with that streak of victories, and he’ll need that momentum to beat a former champion in Woodley. Another thing going for the 33-year-old Burns is that he is five years younger than Woodley. He can also be a problem for Woodley when the fight goes onto the mat, as Burns has eight submission wins against zero submission losses. If anything, Burns has the experience advantage over Woodley when it comes to fighting inside an arena bereft of fans, which was the case when he defeated Maia in Las Vegas.
Writer’s Prediction
Burns pulls off a mild upset by knocking out Woodley.
