Tyron Woodley’s eight-year losing streak across all disciplines is finally over after a come-from-behind wrestling victory tonight.
UFC legend Woodley hadn’t won since a 2018 welterweight title defence against Darren Till, competing across MMA and boxing. He took on Joaquin Buckley in his first RAF Wrestling match as he prepares for a big return next month.
Woodley had already signed up to face Khamzat Chimaev in Russia on September 5 when he agreed to face UFC standout Buckley. And after being taken down early he came from behind to score his first victory in almost a decade.
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Tyron Woodley vs Joaquin Buckley RAF12 result
Tyron Woodley admitted that in his entire wrestling career from his youth, he never came from behind after being taken down first. That changed tonight as after being put 8-1 down by Joaquin Buckley, he managed to get the score even and then eventually land a takedown of his own to win.
Woodley has been struggling since losing his UFC title in 2019 to Kamaru Usman, with his most disappointing results coming in the boxing ring against Jake Paul and Anderson Silva. Both knocked him out, and he looked to be retired from fighting after the latter.
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However, after watching his close friend Ben Askren return to action following a double lung transplant, Woodley decided to return to his original sport of wrestling. And he immediately agreed to the toughest challenge in their crossover division against former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
Woodley opted to have one match first against Buckley, and has now tasted victory again after a lengthy absence. He gave an emotional interview with Chael Sonnen after the fact in which he repeated the phrase “I won!”
2026-08-23 01:45:18
