Tyron Woodley:
Woodley was on cloud nine after he took out former interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 171, but the win was marred when “The Natural Born Killer” suffered a brutal torn ACL off a second round takedown.
Woodley was convinced that he was ready for a title shot, but the UFC instead booked him against No. 2-ranked Rory MacDonald in the co-main event of June 14’s UFC 174 from Vancouver.
After running his mouth with ferocity, “The Chosen One” backed none of it up; losing a one-sided decision to “Ares” that saw Woodley mount precious little offense. It was a devastating loss after which UFC president Dana White said that Woodley “chokes in big fights” and “has a long way to go.”
Fortunately for Woodley, an injury to No. 6 Hector Lombard opened the door for him to step in against the surging Kim in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 48 from Macau.
A win over Kim would instantly reinsert the mercurial Woodley back near the top of the 170-pound heap, but a loss would likely see him labeled a choker for the rest of his UFC career.
Because of that, Woodley is the fighter with the most pressure on his shoulders heading into this weekend.
