Tyron Woodley didn't have an ea
sy time with Tarec Saffiedine on Friday night's Strikeforce Challengers card, but through three rounds of battling Saffiedine showed that his NCAA wrestling pedigree gives him a great advantage in the clinch, and he won a hard-fought unanimous decision.
"I did well," Woodley said of his performance. "Tarec is a very tough guy. He has some power, he has some pop, switches his stance. Difficult guy to find timing on. I endured, I pressed him, I kept the pressure on with my striking. I did a good job tonight."
The judges scored it 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Woodley, who said he went into the fight expecting to use his superior speed and athleticism to avoid Saffiedine's striking.
"The game plan was just try to be dynamic," Woodley said. "He does a lot of switching with his feet, front kicks, kicks, kicks, kicks. So for me it was just getting out of his range, going in when it was my time to go in."
Woodley hinted after the fight that he'd like to fight for the Strikeforce welterweight belt, which champion Nick Diaz will defend against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos later this month. Woodley may not be ready for that just yet, but he's making progress in the transition from wrestler to fighter, and he's now 8-0.
sy time with Tarec Saffiedine on Friday night's Strikeforce Challengers card, but through three rounds of battling Saffiedine showed that his NCAA wrestling pedigree gives him a great advantage in the clinch, and he won a hard-fought unanimous decision."I did well," Woodley said of his performance. "Tarec is a very tough guy. He has some power, he has some pop, switches his stance. Difficult guy to find timing on. I endured, I pressed him, I kept the pressure on with my striking. I did a good job tonight."
The judges scored it 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Woodley, who said he went into the fight expecting to use his superior speed and athleticism to avoid Saffiedine's striking.
"The game plan was just try to be dynamic," Woodley said. "He does a lot of switching with his feet, front kicks, kicks, kicks, kicks. So for me it was just getting out of his range, going in when it was my time to go in."
Woodley hinted after the fight that he'd like to fight for the Strikeforce welterweight belt, which champion Nick Diaz will defend against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos later this month. Woodley may not be ready for that just yet, but he's making progress in the transition from wrestler to fighter, and he's now 8-0.
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