Interviews
MMATorch Exclusive: Strikeforce welterweight Tyron Woodley on Jordan Mein, Strikeforce, Jorge Masvidal, and much more
Dec 14, 2011 - 7:30:10 PM MMATorch Exclusive: Strikeforce welterweight Tyron Woodley on Jordan Mein, Strikeforce, Jorge Masvidal, and much more

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief and Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist

Undefeated welterweight Tyron Woodley enters his tenth professional fight this January, taking on 21-year-old Canadian prospect Jordan Mein on the January 7 Strikeforce "Rockhold vs. Jardine" event. The 29-year-old former collegiate wrestler at Mizzou has taken to the sport MMA well, rising up the 170 lb. ladder through seven fights in the Strikeforce cage, most recently defeating Paul Daley this past summer. On Tuesday, Woodley spoke with MMATorch's Rich Hansen to discuss his upcoming bout, the opening of his new gym in Missouri, and more. Check it out below:

RICH HANSEN: I'd like to start out by asking you how your training is going for your fight with Jordan Mein, which is now around three weeks away. Are you at ATT for this one?

TYRON WOODLEY: I'm actually doing it in St. Louis. I'm bringing those guys [from ATT] up, they'll be doing some sparring with me in St. Louis… I'm just really enjoying the luxury of having my own gym, my own facilities, my own bed. It's great to go away for camp, just to get away from other stuff, but I've been in a ton of training camps with other guys, and it's great that those guys are [now] coming and showing me love. Guys like Thiago Alves, Din Thomas, Jason High…

HANSEN: Nathan Coy, did you ever train with him at ATT, and was it strange training with someone that you had such a close fight with in 2010?

WOODLEY: Not at all. I trained with him before then; I trained with him at Team Quest when I was considering joining Team Quest in Portland with Matt Lindland. I knew him well; he's actually one of the first guys I grabbed to train with when I fought Paul Daley just because I knew the intensity he goes and how hard he trains. We had some scraps down there. It was great to get back and train with him again. My toughest fight to date was against him, so [I have] a ton of respect for him.

HANSEN: I was at your fight in Chicago against Paul Daley - which was a really good performance that showed off a wide range of stand up for you - in that third round, did you have any 'holy crap!' moments as Daley was coming back and it looked like you were slowing down a little bit; or did you feel the whole time that you weren't in too much danger?

WOODLEY: You always have a 'holy crap!' moment when you've got a guy that has missed three or four punches in a row by an inch but you can still feel them go across your face. I knew at that point that he knew he had lost the first two rounds and he had to try to knock me out. If you remember, I leaned over and took a really nice knee, that was real nice for him and not that nice for me (laughs). After the fight - I've been tired in training before, but I was breathing differently - so after the fight I had a problem raising my hand up and I thought I had broken my ribs. He hadn't, he had just landed a really nice knee that had changed my breathing pattern. So in addition to being really fatigued and tired, with a lot on the line, and I knew I had the first two rounds, and I knew he was trying to knock me out, I think all those things added up. I would have taken those last two minutes back and [fought] differently if I could; but all in all I got the win, and I'm not gonna downplay the other 13 minutes of the fight unless two.

HANSEN: You're 9-0 as a pro, you were 7-0 as an amateur, so you're undefeated in the sport. Do you fear losing more than you enjoy winning?

WOODLEY: I really don't feel that way. I try to take each fight one at a time. Each fight is a step closer to my goal. My goal isn't to make the UFC or make Strikeforce or win the Title once; my goal is to be the best I can be in the sport. Once I win the Strikeforce Title - which I plan to do in 2012 - my goal continues. I want to continue leaving a legacy and a mark. I want to be known as the guy who set out a goal and just wouldn't stop until he finished it… It's easy to forget the guys who were jerks and D-bags, whatever, no matter how good they are, they make it easier for you to forget. I want my kids to be able to look back and say 'my dad was a part of something unique, he won titles in mixed martial arts.' … I try to focus on fighting to win and not fighting not to lose.

HANSEN: When Strikeforce came to you and told you that your next fight was going to be against Jordan Mein - who is dangerous as all hell, but doesn't have any name recognition and might be considered by a lot of people, at best, a parallel move from fighting Paul Daley - were you surprised? Were you expecting your next fight to be for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Title that Nick Diaz vacated against maybe a Tarec Saffiedine, who also looked fantastic on the Chicago card? Or did you not think too much about it and just said 'bring it on?'

WOODLEY: No, I learned not to push the envelope on things that you can't control… Tarec Saffiedine looked amazing against Scott Smith, but - no disrespect to him - [Scott Smith] was a walking heavy bag in that fight. That's the same guy that I had fought a year [before] and I won every single round. For that rematch, I think the rematch is warranted because for one, it was an amazing fight, the fans want to see it again and it was so controversial and so close. So that one you have to do it again [eventually]… I've got a lot of respect for Tarec, but for a rematch, you can't be on the same card on the same day where I'm fighting Paul Daley, top 10 in the world, and you fight Scott Smith, who's not in the top tier of the welterweight division. I think Jordan Mein is an interesting bout. I think if I'm not gonna get a chance to fight for the title, I'm not going to get a chance to fight a top 10 opponent, at least I want to fight someone I respect and that's an interesting bout. He reminds me of basically where I'm coming from. Trying to get the name out there, trying to crack through and use someone else to [break out]. I'm lined up for the title, he could very well try to come in and try to knock me out and take my spot, so I'm very cautious of that. I know he's going to come out to fight, and I'm going to come out to try to rough him up.

HANSEN: Working under the assumption that you beat Jordan Mein [on January 7] and working under the assumption that Tarec Saffiedine wins his fight [on that same card], is that what you think they're going to do, is put you and Saffiedine together for the vacant title? What do you think they're going to do with the Welterweight Title and what do you think they should do with it?

WOODLEY: I respect Tarec as a fighter, and he has a lot of skill, he really concentrates on every area. Tyler Stinson is a kid that's really tough, very hard head, punches hard, kicks hard, but a lot of people don't know him. So again we're in the same situation where he's not knocking off a Paul Daley, or even a "Cyborg" whose record doesn't reflect how tough he is. So I think Strikeforce is going to match me up against somebody who the fans know, who the fans think is exciting, or a fight I haven't already had. I really just think that, I'm the one that's undefeated, I'm the one that's been extremely patient, I'm the one that's fought in Strikeforce against some of the toughest guys. Nathan Coy, Tarec Saffiedine, Paul Daley, the Abu Dhabi Champion Andre Galvao… All of them were equally tough. For me, this is a similar situation as the rest.

HANSEN: In the last couple of weeks it has come out that Strikeforce is going to survive well past 2012 with a imminent renewal of their deal with Showtime, and they're going back to their usual mantra of "business as usual." Was there part of you that was hoping, maybe not for the demise of Strikeforce because you've been with them for most of your career, but that this might have been a quicker avenue to get to the UFC, which has to be one of your goals in the sport?

WOODLEY: I mean the goal is to be the best. I think me jumping right over may have done the opposite. Like I said before, you're looking for that fight against the name or the opponent who's in the top 10 to take a step up in the career. If I don't have a belt, and I go over, or I don't have the win to get to the top… you don't want to go into the UFC playing round robin. You want to go get a crack at the top five guys and always be a fight or two away from the title. I think me staying in Strikeforce is going to better that chance. Also, it's a chance for me to win the Strikeforce Title… I'm very adamant on leaving with this belt.

HANSEN: Was there a part of you - when Nick Diaz was pulled out of Strikeforce to go to the UFC - that just said 'damn, that's the guy I wanted to fight'?

WOODLEY: Of course, and it's not even because I felt like he was some sort of scrub and I was going to beat him, it's because you look at the guy at the top, he's been there awhile and has defended in impressive fashion; you've got to keep your eyes set on that person, because they're sitting in the seat as the crowned champion, and you want to be there. It's nothing personal, I don't know him, I don't have anything against him; I actually admire him as a fighter and I enjoy watching him fight. But I think styles make fights and I think my style matches up very well with him. Of course I would have loved to get an opportunity to fight him before he went over, but he made a great career move. He went over there, he said 'I'm the best in the world.' And he would have gotten a chance against Georges St-Pierre to prove it… I would have done the same thing.

HANSEN: I want to ask you about a fellow Mizzou Tiger, Ben Askren, who was a couple years behind you. When you were on a team with him there - obviously you were an All American, he was an All American - was rolling with him one of the craziest things you got to do while a wrestler there?

WOODLEY: You've got to understand I'm older than him… the young guys take their lumps. When he got there I was already there a couple of years. Granted, he has progressed better than anybody in the sport of wrestling probably in the last ten years. The amount he got better each year within the season, I've never seen anybody in my life like that. I saw this kid lose a match early, come back later in the year and smash the same person by eight or nine points.It's almost unheard of to increase a margin like that… Before I left out of there, some people used to stop wrestling to watch the two of us go at it. Look at our styles. His style is a nightmare for mine; my style is a nightmare for his. It was really unique for both of us to have that kind of "look" as we call it. I would never in a hundred years be able to provide the kind of look that he can provide…

HANSEN: Saturday night's main event is a bout between Gilbert Melendez and your former ATT teammate Jorge Masvidal. Do you think Masvidal has what it takes, or do you think Melendez is going to be able to win that fight?

WOODLEY: It's a very underrated fight. I think Jorge Masvidal is a hard worker; he was probably one of the hardest working guys at ATT. I think he has the tools to get the job done, and I think it's his fight to win or lose. If he goes out there and fights his fight… I see him coming home with the belt… If you're in a tournament, and you go against the number one seed and you beat them, now you're the number one seed. So this is his chance to steal some of Gil's star power. He has the skills, I've trained with him numerous times. Unfortunately I opened my ATT Evolution affiliate gym in Missouri, so I didn't get an opportunity to get down there and train with him, but I know how he trains, and I know if he opens up and does what he's capable of we might see a new Champion.

HANSEN: Since he fought Paul Daley before you fought Paul Daley, how much of a help was he for you when you were training for that fight?

WOODLEY: He was a huge help… I personally thought [Jorge] won that fight. Paul came out with a flurry at the end of the round, but most of the punches didn't land and I thought Jorge convincingly won a 29-28 decision. The judges saw it the other way, but he was very insightful. On how to take him down, I shoot a lot of double legs, but he said 'hey, he's a wide guy, he's pretty strong, instead of hitting him with a double leg, hit him with a single leg.' [Jorge] took him down a lot more than I did, and that's because Jorge shoots a lot of single legs, I don't shoot a lot of single legs. But every takedown I ended up getting came off me attacking one leg. So he's very smart; he's just a wise guy. Him, Rich Attonito who coming off a tough loss, Thiago Alves, those guys were awesome in the training camp getting me ready for the Paul Daley fight. I look forward to working with Thiago, getting some time in with Jason High and more for this one.

HANSEN: Is there anything you'd like to acknowledge before we let you go here, and where can fans follow you?

WOODLEY: I want to let everyone know we're doing a grand opening for our ATT Evolution gym. 9751 Manchester Road, Rock Hill, MO. We'll be bringing in Randy Couture in conjunction with a book launch, and a holiday party for us. Thiago Alves, Din Thomas, Jason High, as I said before, and possibly Marcus Brimage will be in town to support the project, so come and check us out. You can follow me on Twitter @TWooodley or @ATTEvolution. So follow us, stay up to date, and check me out January 7 on Showtime.