Tyron Woodley is no longer a member of the UFC roster.
MMA Fighting confirmed with UFC officials that the former welterweight champion is a free agent following speculation on social media that Woodley had parted ways with the promotion. Woodley, 39, is no longer eligible to be voted for in the fan rankings and his profile on UFC.com reads “former fighter” under his name.
Woodley’s manager Malki Kawa also addressed the rumor on social media, clarifying that Woodley had indeed fought out his most recent contract and he was not cut by the UFC.
The news does not come as a surprise as it was previously reported that Woodley’s most recent fight with Vicente Luque at UFC 260 in March was the last fight on his contract. Woodley lost that bout by first-round submission, extending his current losing streak to four.
While nothing precludes Woodley from re-signing with the UFC, as of now he is a free agent. Following his loss to Luque, Woodley released a statement in which he expressed no regret over the aggressive approach that led to him being finished in the first round and offered no indication as to his future plans. However, he is one of several fighters who has volunteered their services for a boxing match with popular YouTube personality Jake Paul. Woodley was in Ben Askren’s corner when Askren was knocked out by Paul at the recent Triller Fight Club event.
Should Woodley move on from the UFC, it will end an eight-year relationship that began in 2013 when Woodley came over as part of the acquisition of Strikeforce. “The Chosen One” went on to win the welterweight championship with a first-round KO of Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 in 2016 and successfully defended that title four consecutive times. He dropped the belt to current champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 and has yet to return to the win column.
Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.
