Back at UFC 201, Tyron Woodley spent his pre-fight media time telling people “I’m the best welterweight in the world,” and not a whole lot else. He explained his reluctance to get into the promotional spirit as a combination of a lack of financial incentive, a feeling that UFC 201 was overshadowed already by bigger events, and just simply that he wasn’t the champ.
UFC 201 landed with something of a resounding thud, at a projected 240,000 buys; much much lower than UFC 200 or UFC 202, and in fact, potentially the lowest PPV number since UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson II. But now, Woodley’s got the belt, he’s got the big event, and it has to be assumed that he’s got a little extra financial incentive too.
So, at the open workouts this Wednesday, November 9th, Woodley took a little extra time to rally fan support and get the crowd behind him. At least that was the theory. In practice? Not so much (starting at 3:49 in the video above):
“And one thing guys...” Woodley said to the crowd, grabbing the mic away from UFC host Megan Olivi. “Hey, you guys are coming to the weigh ins and during the fight, we're gonna do a chant real quick. So, when I say, 'Who got my back!?' I want everyone to scream, 'I got your back!' You guys got it? Don't leave me hanging and make me look stupid. Y'all ready?
"Who got my back!?" Woodley chanted into the mic.
The crowd, however, replied with a somewhat broken, "Wonder-boy!"
Woodley once again shouted, "Who got my back!?"
"Wonder-boy!" The crowd replied again, this time much clearer.
"And still..." Woodley said, finally, on his way off the open workout surface.
Credit to Woodley, he’s putting more time into the PR game this go-around, but it looks like he may still have an uphill struggle to get fans invested in his championship run.
Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley faces Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this Saturday, October 12 at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden arena. The event will be headlined by a superfight between lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and coverage as the event nears.
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