UFC president Dana White didn’t need to hype too hard in order to pitch the rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson going into UFC 209.
After all, their first welterweight title fight at UFC 205 was a thriller, so how could the rematch possibly be boring?
Instead, Saturday night’s rematch in Las Vegas turned into another reminder that you never know how things are going to go in the fight game. Woodley woke up in the fifth round and eked out a victory at T-Mobile Arena, taking two 48-47 scores to one 47-47 for a majority decision.
And after the fight, White wasn’t about to pretend like the match was some sort of instant classic.
“When I was out doing the radio tour for this fight, I said, you’ve all seen the first fight, how can the second fight not be good?” White said at the UFC 209 post-fight press conference at T-Mobile Arena. “So, I guess it doesn’t matter what the first fight was like, the second fight can be not as good.”
White, for his part, not only wasn’t a fan of the match, he thought the judges got it wrong.
“I had it 3-2 the other way,” White said. “I thought Wonderboy won 3-2.”
“You know, Woodley came out and made some big claims before the fight about you’d have a definitive answer on who’s the champion,” White said. “I like Tyron, it’s just, he’s talented, you’ve heard me say all the things he is before. You can’t be upset if people are whatever now after that second fight, I mean, come on.”
Still, though, White didn’t necessarily agree with the fans in Vegas who jeered the competitors.
“It’s easy to sit in your seat, drink some beer and eat some popcorn and boo some people,” White said. “But, you’re not in there fighting Tyron Woodley and Wonderboy.”