Tyron
Woodley recently admitted that he mentally hit rock bottom
after losing his
Ultimate Fighting Championship title.
Woodley (19-7) was unbeaten in seven straight outings since 2014,
including four title defenses, when he put his welterweight title
on the line against Kamaru
Usman in 2018. Usman dethroned Woodley via a dominant unanimous
decision. The latter recently revealed that he felt like a laughing
stock after losing his belt.
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Tyron Woodley recalls depression after Kamaru Usman ended his
UFC title reign
“The Chosen One” felt like all his detractors finally got what they
had been wishing for when he lost the belt to Usman in a one-sided
fight. Woodley revealed that his close friend, UFC Hall of Famer
Demetrious
Johnson, tried to help him deal with his depression.
“D.J. tried for a long time to put me out of it,” Woodley told
Ariel Helwani. “Rock bottom is when I thought everybody was
laughing at me. I thought the UFC was laughing at me. Usman was
laughing at me. During my title reign, I was in a divorce; I had a
girlfriend; I had a kid. I had all this stuff; I was spending
$40,000 a month; being dumb… When I lost the belt, it was like a
state of depression where I felt like everybody finally got what
they wanted… All the stuff I won, all those titles, I went three
years without losing a round, let alone a fight, right? That was a
harvest from the season before, but I had to eat sh*t.”
Woodley never won in the UFC again and parted ways with the
promotion in 2021 on a four-fight slump. He then suffered three
consecutive losses in boxing, including a knockout loss to Jake Paul.
The former champ’s winless streak finally ended with a wrestling
victory against Joaquin
Buckley at RAF 12. Woodley has since suffered a pinfall loss in
a wrestling match against Khamzat
Chimaev at RAF Moscow earlier this month. Woodley admits that
he heaved a sigh of relief after returning to the win column
against Buckley.
“And after I beat Buckley, I’m like, finally, it’s over with,”
Woodley added.
Tyron
Woodley opens up about hitting “rock bottom” after losing the
UFC welterweight title:“Rock bottom is when I thought everybody was laughing at me. I
thought the UFC was laughing at me. Usman was laughing at me.When I lost the belt, it was like a state of depression where…
pic.twitter.com/F1sNLRwL5A— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
September 16, 2026