Uniting Locals Through Mixed Martial Arts names Tyron Woodley MMA prospect of the year for 2009

In the still evolving sport of mixed martial arts the science of projecting prospects is inexact to a fault. With a lack of a solid amateur program as well as the inconsistent matchmaking in the majority of regional shows, rising MMA prospects in 2009 did not have a clear path to improve their stock.

Welterweight prospect Tyron Woodley entered the year with the potential to become one of the better up and in coming fighters in MMA.

On January 1, 2009 Woodley had only one professional MMA fight to his credit. 12 months and three promotions later Woodley is a bona fide five star prospect with championship expectations placed squarely on his shoulders in the coming years.

Woodley came into MMA with a decorated amateur wrestling background. A two time All American at the University Missouri and the school's first ever Big 12 champion, Woodley's advanced wrestling base already gave him at a competitive advantage in one of the key elements in MMA.

Behind the scenes, prior to 2009, Woodley worked diligently at his craft for two plus years with some of the best camps in the sport including Team Quest, American Kickboxing Academy, and American Top Team. Nearly three years after his first foray into the cage Woodley returned to action with a victory in February 2009 at a local event in Columbia, Missouri.

The win was the first of five for Woodley on the year including three under the Strikeforce Challengers Series, where Woodley became the model on how Strikeforce wants to grow a prospect with their smaller shows.

ULTMMA.com talked with ULTMMA 2009 Prospect of the Year Tyron Woodley about his 2009 fights, growing with Strikeforce and the goals he has for himself in 2010. 

ULTMMA.com: How do you sum up 2009 for Tyron Woodley?

Tyron Woodley: Behind the scenes I've been training for awhile and working real hard at it. I felt like I was running into closed doors that were locked. Even when I thought things were going to happen for me, they didn't happen. Just looking back at 2009 and the favor God gave me in Strikeforce. Just looking back at some of the sponsorships I got and some of the training I got, it was just a really awesome year.

ULTMMA: Prior to 2009, you had opportunities with Elite XC and The Ultimate Fighter fall through how did that affect your mindset heading into this year?

Woodley: I think it was a little discouraging. I didn't have the desire to give up because I still love training, going to the gym and working out. For me I was really excited about fighting on Elite XC because at the time they were on CBS. I had a chance to fight for them in Hawaii then I got injured.

I tried out for the Ultimate Fighter and thought I had a pretty decent chance. I was one of the most talented guys, if not the most talented at my weight. It would have been a good opportunity if I made it, but that didn't happen. I just had to keep in my mind that what God had for me was for me and all those other things weren't for me at the time. It's just hard to think like that when you're in the middle of it and in the mix. You really want to start competing and chopping at that ladder to try to become the best in the world.

I just try to keep my eye on the prize and remind myself that I'm in it for the long haul. I needed to take the old school route, I guess and just go out and keeping winning fights in impressive fashion.

ULTMMA: How did the Strikeforce deal come about?

Woodley: I'm friends with Robbie Lawler and I occasionally went to his gym. I saw him at the NCAA tournament that was held in St. Louis for wrestling. He said "I'm fighting Jake Shields and Strikeforce is coming to St. Louis." I was like "What?! There is no way that they are coming to St. Louis without me fighting on that card."

I called my buddy Yves Edwards and he hooked me up with Javier Mendez. I had no clue about Mendez's connection with AKA or Bob Cook, but I had already had planned trip to go to San Jose to train with Bob Cook.

I ended up being on the undercard and the night before Bob Cook came up to me asked me "who did he need to talk to about getting me a six fight contract?" He said we needed it signed tonight. We got the contract knocked out and the rest is history.

I'm really satisfied with Strikeforce. They are doing great things with me and giving me opportunities.

ULTMMA: How do you grade your 2009 performance?

Woodley: Obviously the person in the body is going to be more critical of them. I say I want to be a little more active, even though people say I'm already all over the place. I know my potential and what I'm capable of. For 2010 I want to be a little more aggressive especially with my striking. My striking is a lot better than my jiu-jitsu, but all my fights have been won by submission which is a good thing. Something that I believe is one of my stronger suits wasn't really even displayed.

My wrestling is my base. I got two of the three areas I've already shown in my fights, but striking is probably my second best out of the three. I'm just excited to get better. I think I did well. I pushed through some injures and adversity. I felt this was a good year and next year is just going to be a really explosive year; taking things by force and basically just claiming stuff. "I'm going to do this." "I'm going to get this." I want to be wearing that belt by the end of the year and I got a lot of work to do.

ULTMMA: Compare the Tyron Woodley who beat Steve Schneider back in February to one who beat Rudy Bears in November?

Woodley: I think it was night and day. One fight I got up on the guy and he tried to take me down, so I just finished the fight that way. If, you watched the fight with Zach Light I got to incorporate some knees into the equation, some good combinations going from wrestling to submissions. I felt like I had a lot of "attempts", a lot of submission attempts, a lot of closing the gap, basically like a leash where they guy couldn't keep me off of him. I want to keep that up, but I think people are going to try to see my hands open up. My knees, my kicks and takedowns go together well and I think that's going to be the difference maker coming into 2010.

ULTMMA: In Strikeforce who the 170 pound division who would you like to fight in 2010?

Woodley: It's hard to say. One thing Strikeforce is doing is that they are really keeping me in the loop about my direction. You got to realize a lot of guys in Strikeforce they are not home grown. You think of Jay Hieron, Jake Shields, the guy from Dream Marius Zaromskis, Nick Diaz these guys are formerly from the IFL, formerly from Elite XC, formerly from Dream. I want to be the first person that started with Strikeforce worked his way from the undercard to the Challengers to main eventing the Challengers to wearing their belt.

I think if they want to see that story happen and make it a reality, I'm one of the guys who can do that. For me I'm just excited to match up with a lot of guys. I think my style is a nightmare for a lot of guys. I look at Nick Diaz, Jake Shields and there jiu-jitsu is great for taking guys down, but I think my wrestling is a lot better. I think my wrestling defense is a lot better. Than it comes down to striking and submission defense, I think those are good match-ups for me. Taking the right fights at the right time, I want to be at my peak when I fight my opponents.

I'm more interested in fighting guys at the right time than saying I'll fight anybody. It's going to be a long road if you start doing that kind of stuff. At a point I think I can beat anybody, but I have to continue to grow and continue develop.

ULTMMA: When do you want to get back in the cage and start getting active again?

Woodley: I want to get back soon. I begged for the January one, but I got three fights in five months which they don't do for everyone. They wanted to use other 170 pounders that were on the shelf and under contract for that show.

I know I'm going to fight at the beginning of next year, I don't know when. They haven't released the full schedule yet; I would like to fight in April. Where is the one at in April?

CBS would be amazing, but we'll see. I don't know exactly when, but my desire is soon. I feel the reason I was able to make so many gains was because I fought five or six times to build momentum.

ULTMMA: Talk about the comradery between you and your fellow decorated amateur wrestlers on the Strikeforce roster.

Woodley: There is a lot of comradery and we had pervious relationships before this. King Mo I've known him for awhile at a lot of the same events. We also tried to get him to wrestle at Missouri. He was Division II for a time and he was transferring before his senior year and we became close. I went down to Oklahoma State a few times to train, so I also built a relationship with Cormier (Daniel).

We hate to have the lay and pray style. We see the new style of MMA and are working hard. When they take guys down they aren't laying on them. They want take you down and pound you. They want to knock you out and kick you in the head. Having all those different variables can really make your opponent have anxiety.

It's just such a small world not only in the wrestling community, but in MMA. The people who really love MMA for what it is don't care about training with you no matter what team you're from. They don't care about helping you out as long as you help them back. I think those are the guys I have been blessed to meet and will continue to work with.

ULTMMA: Congratulations on being named the 2009 ULTMMA prospect of the year. Are there any sponsors you need to thank?

Woodley: I would like to always God first. He's put me in position to be successful and has changed my mind set when it comes to thinking about training, business and life. He has helped me to stay humble and stay grounded with these types of things. Also I would like to thank Clinch gear, Tap Out, MMA Overload, St. Charles MMA, American Top Team. These are all people who have consistently had my back.