Tyron Woodley Says He Belongs in GOAT Conversation With Topuria, Volkanovski
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says his name belongs in the MMA GOAT conversation if Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski are already being included. He made that case while ranking Islam Makhachev among the sport’s all-time greats in an interview with Helen Yee Sports.
Woodley spoke in Cleveland ahead of his Real American Freestyle debut against UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12. The 44-year-old held the UFC welterweight title from 2016 to 2019 and made four successful defenses.
His championship run included a first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler, a draw and a win over Stephen Thompson, a decision against Demian Maia, and a submission of Darren Till. Woodley lost the belt to Kamaru Usman in 2019 and dropped his final four UFC fights before leaving the roster in 2021.
Makhachev is the UFC welterweight champion, a former lightweight titleholder, and the No. 1 fighter in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings. He is 29-1 and last fought on Aug. 15 at UFC 330, where he defeated Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision to retain the 170-pound title.
That win gave Makhachev 17 consecutive UFC victories and broke Anderson Silva’s record of 16. It also added another layer to a two-division championship resume that has pushed him into the current all-time debate.
Helen Yee asked Woodley where Makhachev ranks among the MMA greats after that streak fell. Woodley answered by locking in a short list at the top.
“You know, it’s really perspective,” Woodley said.
“You look at Anderson, you look at Jon Jones, you look at Demetrious Johnson, you look at Georges St. Pierre. You got to put those guys there.”
He said the rest of the ranking is a matter of taste. That is where Topuria and Volkanovski entered the discussion.
“And after that, I feel like it’s preference,” Woodley said.
“Some of these people that you see on there like an Ilia Topuria or a Volkanovski or something like that. I’ll be like, well, in that case, throw me in there if that’s what we’re doing.”
Topuria is 17-1 and a former UFC champion at featherweight and lightweight. He was stopped by Justin Gaethje via corner TKO at UFC Freedom 250 in June and is ranked No. 5 pound-for-pound.
Volkanovski is 28-4, the current two-time UFC featherweight champion, and No. 2 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings. He is scheduled to defend the title against undefeated challenger Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi.
Woodley is not arguing that he outranks Makhachev. He is arguing that the standard being used for Topuria and Volkanovski would also have to include a four-time defending welterweight champion from his era.
On the current titleholder, Woodley mixed respect with a blunt stylistic read.
“Islam Makhachev is a great champion,” he said.
He pointed to the discipline of Dagestani wrestlers as the quality he admires most, including their drive to finish careers without a loss. Makhachev’s only professional defeat remains a 2015 knockout loss to Adriano Martins, years before he became a UFC champion.
Woodley called that ability to dominate remarkable. He also said Makhachev’s style would not have given him butterflies in his prime the way a knockout threat or a complete wrestler such as Georges St-Pierre would have.
He still placed Makhachev in the all-time group because of that same approach.
“So I feel like he will go down as one of the GOATs just because, like I said before, their focus is discipline,” Woodley said.
“Their focus is being consistent. And I don’t see him easing off.”
Woodley described Makhachev and fighters from that school as unmoved by the celebrity side of the sport.
“They don’t care if they were in a nice suit,” he said.
“They don’t care if they got girls all at their hotel room trying to come upstairs. They don’t care about that stuff.”
“All they care about is staying undefeated and dominating and winning.”
He then repeated a Khabib Nurmagomedov line that, Woodley said, explained the method: “Anything you want, it takes discipline. Anything you want to get takes discipline. You want a girl, it take discipline. You want money, take discipline.”
“They don’t have to do all the extras,” Woodley said. “They don’t have to be all throwing cans at a press conference.”
“All they got to do is keep winning, keep dominating, and I feel like they going to keep winning,” he said. “So at that point, you got to respect them, give them the credibility that they deserve if they going undefeated and winning all these matches.”
When Yee asked whether Carlos Prates would have what it takes if he fought Makhachev next, Woodley did not hesitate.
“No,” he said.
He called Prates a stud but said Makhachev would close the distance too quickly and keep the fight on the ground. In Woodley’s view, that is a style problem, and he believed Prates might have beaten Garry even if he does not beat Makhachev.
The comments leave Makhachev’s all-time case tied to more winning rather than to a finished resume. Woodley’s own claim rests on a legitimate title reign and has to live with the four-fight losing streak that closed his UFC career.
Woodley is scheduled to wrestle Buckley at RAF 12, then face former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of RAF Moscow on Sept. 5. Makhachev’s next welterweight title defense has not been officially announced.