Kamaru Usman claimed the UFC welterweight throne last night (Sat., Mar. 2, 2019) at UFC 235 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he dominated champion Tyron Woodley over the course of five brutal rounds.
It was early pressure for Usman as he put Woodley against the cage and landed hard inside strikes. Woodley couldn’t get much of anything going outside of an early guillotine attempt. The second round was all Usman as the contender landed foot stomps, shoulder bumps, knees to the thighs, and a big elbow off the clinch. He then landed a slamming takedown that put the champ on his back. From here, Usman scored elbows in bunches from top position that cut “Chosen One” up.
The third round saw Usman handle Woodley in the clinch and land heavy body punches at will. Woodley didn’t do much to get “Nigerian Nightmare” off him as Usman eclipsed 100 body strikers within 14 minutes of action. Usman did even more damage in the fourth round as he started to catch Woodley on the feet with vicious uppercuts inside and right hands over the top. The champ somehow survived.
In Round 5, Woodley put everything he had left into a guillotine attempt along the cage, but Usman earned another slamming takedown and pinned the champion to the mat. From there, Usman rode out the frame with sneaky offense from top control and watched the clock count down to his dominant championship victory.
Check out highlights above and below courtesy of UFC.
Another huge take down from Usman.
— UFC (@ufc) March 3, 2019
Total domination from the Nigerian Nightmare! @Usman84Kg #UFC235 pic.twitter.com/LH6tCbT5R7
Challenger Kamaru Usman is currently dominating welterweight champion Tyron Woodley #UFC235 pic.twitter.com/Gf8NLLUzIk
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 3, 2019
Hellbows in round 2@Usman84Kg #UFC235 pic.twitter.com/ZUK0w2N5cK
— UFC (@ufc) March 3, 2019
With this performance, Usman pushes his UFC record to 10-0 and knocks off one of the greatest welterweight champions in UFC history. Usman didn’t give an inch to Woodley tonight and proved that he’s the best 170-pound fighter in the world right now. It’s fun to imagine the new UFC welterweight champion taking on future contenders such as Colby Covington and Ben Askren, but we could also see Woodley quickly work his way back towards a rematch.
For complete UFC 235 results and coverage click here.
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