Tyron Woodley: ‘Wonderboy’ Will Take Care of ‘Light Work’ with Darren Till

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley still has no idea who he’s fighting next but he’s got plenty to watch unfold over the next few months in his division.

One particularly interesting matchup is the fight that was just announced this week as Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will travel across the pond to face Darren Till at the UFC Fight Night card in Liverpool, England.

Woodley knows Thompson very well after they engaged in a pair of fights in 2016 and 2017 including a ‘Fight of the Night’ performance at UFC 205 that ended in a draw with both fighters earning an extra $50,000 for the five round battle.

While Woodley and Thompson have definitely taken a lot of shots at each other throughout their rivalry, the reigning king at welterweight still has a lot of respect for what “Wonderboy” brings into any fight and that’s why he believes Till will be sorely disappointed by what happens on May 27.

“I think Thompson to be honest,” Woodley said during a Q&A with fans over Instagram when asked for his pick in that fight. “I know I talked a lot of trash about Thompson just more in like joking but Thompson is a very difficult puzzle to figure out. It took me a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of training partners to try and really figure it out. I just don’t think Till has what it takes to take him out.

“With that said, I’ve got to go with “Wonderboy”. Even though he never said I was going to win a fight, but I’m just going to be a real guy and just be honest. I think he’s going to win.”

The way Woodley sees it because he’s already faced “Wonderboy” on two separate occasions, it’s not likely that they will see each other a third time — at least not any time relatively soon.

Still, Woodley considers Thompson one of the best welterweight fighters in the world so until they meet again, he believes the crafty karate stylist will be the measuring stick for anybody who really wants a shot at his title.

“‘Wonderboy’ the gatekeeper,” Woodley said about Thompson. “He do all my light work for me. All the people that think they want a shot at the strap, they gotta go through him and ain’t nobody made it through him yet.”