Tyron Woodley retains UFC title with majority decision

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley spent about 90 seconds of a 25-minute fight aggressively attacking challenger Stephen Thompson on Saturday night.

It proved enough for him to retain his belt in the main event of UFC 209 at T-Mobile Arena.

Woodley was awarded a majority decision by the three judges. Though the scorecards looked similar to when they fought to a majority draw in November, the action was a stark contrast from the action-packed bout in New York.

Woodley spent the first rounds circling around with his back to the cage. Thompson, wary of Woodley’s right hand and explosive takedowns, sporadically engaged.

The champion opened the third round with a takedown in the middle of the cage with the boos in the arena turning to a rhythmic plea to “fight.”

Woodley controlled the action on the mat for the first half of the third round, only to revert back to fighting with his back against the cage until the final minute of the fight.

Most of the action took place in the final 30 seconds of the fifth round. Woodley exploded forward with a flurry of punches that almost stopped Thompson.

That was enough for the judges.

“When you fight someone for the second time it’s like a chess match, you don’t want to give up anything,” Woodley said over thunderous boos from the crowd after the scores were read. “It wasn’t the most exciting fight like you guys were used to the last time. Sometimes chess is move by move.”

Woodley won 48-47 on two scorecards, with the third a 47-47 draw. The Review-Journal scored the fight 48-47 for Thompson.

“I had to play it smart,” Thompson said. “I thought I had it. I thought I landed more of the strikes, but you can’t leave it in the judges’ hands.”

Woodley was awarded the second round on both of the scorecards he won. He was given a 10-8 fifth round on the card that ruled a draw.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.