Tyron Woodley: Revisionist History, Favoritism, or Something Worse?

Date:

9/6/2016

Time:

08:17:20

Author:

Jason Payne/FanSided via Cage Pages

Source:

Foxnews

Content:

On July 30 at UFC 201, Tyron Woodley would become the fourth former Strikeforce champion to hold a UFC title. Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler with a vicious overhand in the first round. There was a brief moment of celebratory praise from fighters and fans alike. However, all praise would abruptly end after a brief post-fight interview between Woodley and welterweight contender; Stephen Thompson. The backlash from this interview is still going strong today. Social media and message boards were ablaze with anti-Woodley sentiment. Every Tyron Woodley-related article on Facebook is met with vile and erroneous accusations. Woodley has gone into some detail about the harassment and how he has handled it. "You p -- sy, youre scared of [insert contender]" represents some of the milder comments thrown his way. Many comments even went on to say that Woodley didnt deserve to ask for a "money fight". And to no ones surprise, a fair share of the negativity has a racial element to it. Since UFC 202, Woodley has also called out former welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre. Both were vocal about wanting the bout and even exchanged text messages about making it happen. Dana White officially shot that down several weeks ago. This is actually quite unusual given Danas track record of picking money fights over rankings. He wanted Holly to wait for Ronda, and we all know how that turned out. Dana wasnt too pleased with Holm or her management team. Then we have Conor McGregor essentially holding up the featherweight division. And lets not forget Chael Sonnen talking his way into a title fights with Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. .theiaPostSlider_nav._lower {display: none !important} Related Story: UFC 201 Breakdown: Tyron Woodleys Right Hand Tyron Woodleys relationship with the UFC and some of the fanbase has always been a bit rocky. Dana tried his best to make a bout between him and Hector Lombard in 2014. Woodley has stated on a few occasions that he would only fight a teammate if the title was on the line. Then theres the length of time Tyron was out of competition. There was speculation that he was just sitting around and waiting for his title shot. However, according to his interview with Sherdog Radio, Woodley was not offered any other bouts. "I was not offered other bouts. Its tough to put that to bed because everyone doesnt listen to the same broadcast at the same time. Even if they listen they have their own mindset. Our fans are so entitled and so all-knowing that I was waiting around, whether I admitted it or not." He went on to address the miscommunication between him and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. These issues would fuel the animosity that some fans feel towards him. Woodleys period of inactivity shared some similarities with that of Rashad Evans during 2010-2011. A bad combination of injuries and match-ups that never happened. Both faced a lot of criticism from fans and UFC brass about their business decision. Every move related to their career has to be viewed as such. Tyrons decision to call out GSP and Diaz makes sense given UFCs line of thinking. But is that kind of free thinking only allowed for a select few? More from Cage Pages Some of you may recall that Quinton Jackson was the first UFC fighter sponsored by Reebok. Back in 2013 he stated that the UFC would not allow him to wear his Reebok gear to the Octagon. Later that same year former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks secured a sponsorship with Reebok and was allowed to wear his gear to the Octagon. A little over a year later, we have a the announcement of the Reebok uniforms. No one at the time questioned why Hendricks was allowed to proudly wear his Reebok gear while Rampage was not. But it does begin to paint a picture of UFCs treatment of black athletes which possibly has an influence on how fans react to them. Chael Sonnen went from losing his rematch with Anderson Silva at UFC 148 to talking his way into a title fight with Jon Jones. And before fighting Sonnen, Jones was pushed into taking a bout with Vitor Belfort. A dominant champ being forced to fight two undeserving contenders from a different weight class is somehow less egregious than a champ calling out two of the most popular fighters from his own division. There was no outrage when Jones had to fight two inflated middleweights with no recent light heavyweight fights on their records. div.apply-now .apply form .submit.apply-now-submit-1:hover { background-color: #f1473f!important;} Want your voice heard? Join the Cage Pages team! You may think the allegations of racism from the company itself have no real merit. But if you really examine the relationships of past and current champs, the ones who endure the most disrespect from the company and fans are often black. Even Anderson Silva couldnt escape the wrath of Dana White and fans. Weve all seen the meme of the mock family portrait with Dana White, Paige VanZant, Conor McGregor, Sage Northcutt, and Ronda Rousey. Four fighters that the company has strapped a rocket to. Four fighters who look very similar. The whole reason the meme works is because the company obviously has a thing for blondes. Next: Titan FC 41s Andre Harrison: Always a Step Ahead One of the reasons the UFC is able to get away with treating fighters like this is because fans are often fickle have short-term memories. So short in fact, that if you looked at comments directed at Woodley the day after his fight, you would never believe that he knocked out one of the most dangerous strikers in the division. Fans have to hold the company and themselves accountable. And that means asking themselves uncomfortable questions regarding their opinions. This article originally appeared on

Orignial Link :

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/09/06/tyron-woodley-revisionist-history-favoritism-or-something-worse.html

crawlTime:

9/12/2016 4:07:49 PM