Paul Daley said it wouldn't be the same as his fight against Josh Koscheck at UFC 113. That was the last time Daley faced an elite former college wrestler. Tonight it was former Missouri star Tyron Woodley and the result was pretty similar. Woodley took Daley down early in both the second and third rounds to roll to a unanimous decision victory, 29-28 on all cards.
Woodley wasn't quite as dominant as Koscheck, he did have to ward off a late Daley rush to close the fight. With Woodley (9-0) tired from working for the takedown and trying to maintain top control, Daley (27-11-2) got off some good shots in the final 90 seconds. It wasn't enough to make up for the first two rounds when landed just 3-of-12 strikes.
"He was defintely prepared for me to use a lot of takedowns," Woodley told Showtime's Gus Johnson. "So I had to mix in with strikes, counter with the strikes and when I did it well, I took him down."
With former Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz off to the UFC, Woodley probably put himself in position for a the next fight for the vacant title.
Woodley was only good on 2-of-10 takedown attempts, but he held Daley down on those occasions for nearly six minutes. With Daley's late rush, the total strikes landed count looked respectable as Woodley rolled up a 78-36 advantage.
It wasn't the most exciting gameplan, but it was smart on the part of the former college wrestler. Daley has one path to victory, to use his hands and force a slugfest. Twenty of his 27 wins have come via knockout so there's no way Woodley, with just eight pro fights under his belt, should've banged it out with the Brit.
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