5 Things You Might Not Know About Tyron Woodley

UFC 228 is now available on Amazon Prime.

Tyron Woodley is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight title holder. Woodley’s next outing, his fourth title defence, will be against Darren Till in the UFC 228 main event on Sept. 8 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

In the lead up to the clash, here are five things that you might not know about the “The Chosen One.”

1. He comes from a very large family.

Ferguson, Missouri, native Tyron Woodley has 12 siblings, 10 of whom are older than him. As his father left when he was young, Woodley was raised by his mother Deborah, who he remains very close to. Tyron is married to Averi Woodley, and together they have four children – three boys and a girl. Their names are Tyron Jr., Darron, Dylan and Gabby.

2. He has a strong amateur wrestling background.

At McCluer High School, Woodley was a two-time All-American in wrestling. On his way to winning the 2000 Missouri State Wrestling title, he went 48-0. After graduating from high school in 2000, Woodley attended the University of Missouri, where he studied Agricultural Economics and was captain of the university’s wrestling team. His accolades included being the first Big 12 Champion in the college’s history, as well as earning All-American honours in 2003 and again in 2005.

3. He has a social conscience.

As a youngster, Woodley, despite living in an impoverished area, gave crime and drugs a wide berth. He managed this by staying focused on studies and sports. Today, he is keen to instil the same values on the next generation. Woodley currently runs a non-profit facility for troubled and homeless children, and he devotes a great deal of his free time to this venture. It is his firm belief that with the right support, youngsters have the opportunity to better themselves. Following the unrest in his hometown of Ferguson over the police shooting of Michael Brown, Woodley strongly condemned the behaviour of some of his fellow townsfolk, which entailed looting and violent protesting.

4. He has appeared in several films.

Woodley has made fleeting appearances in a number of films. These include “Olympus Has Fallen” (2013) and “Kickboxer: Vengeance” both in 2016. His most famous role to date was in “Straight Outta Compton” (2015) in which he featured in several scenes. Woodley’s latest silver screen outing was in the recently released “Escape Plan 2: Hades.” The film stars Sylvester Stallone and Dave Bautista. Woodley has previously stated in interviews that there are pitfalls to a fighter spending too much time concentrating on acting, but that once his career is concluded, he would like to be an action movie star.

5. He works as a host and broadcast analyst.

Woodley currently hosts a podcast called “Morning Wood with Deez Nutz.” He is often joined on it by his mentor, Din Thomas. The pair discuss MMA-related matters and more. Woodley has an internet web show named “The Hollywood Beatdown.” Taking place every Friday, it takes the form of Woodley giving his take on his favorite stories in the world of Hollywood and sports. Recently, considerable time has been devoted to the build up to his title fight against Darren Till at UFC 228. Woodley is also currently employed as a Fox Sports analyst for UFC events.

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