Tyron Woodley enjoyed the good life as a UFC champion for a few years, but he’s now admitted that he got carried away enjoying his lavish lifestyle during that period and didn’t save money for the future.
“I blew through a lot of fucking money, man,” Woodley told ESPN. “A lot. A lot of money. And I was—jewelry and VIP and all these experiences, all these things that came with the championship life. You really – when you come from where I come from – you never imagine making that type of money; you never imagine being in that type of position. You work hard for it – and I didn’t get there by accident (because I was busting my ass) – but nobody taught me finance.
“Everybody taught me 1+1 is 2. That’s math. That ain’t finance. That ain’t wealth, that ain’t investing, that ain’t saving, that ain’t tax. That’s basically: you made money and, fucking, you spend it. Because when I was growing up, we spent it when it came in. My mom’s check was already cut up, it was done before she even got it. She had to pick which utility bills was not gonna be on that, that month. And it was something that I didn’t recognize, as a kid, that it wasn’t normal. I thought everybody had to do that.
“So, when you started making money? I bought, like, seven cars and, fucking, two houses—and all these trips. And nobody ever lifted a fucking hand when we was at a restaurant; 10-15 people went to dinner. And I was going to VIP clubs and all this shit, like, every other week. And I just imagined making that amount of money for a very long time. And they very quickly said, ‘Poof!’ Damn! I’m on it like, ‘You gonna tell me, March 3rd, that this is different? It’s not the same?’ And it’s just a lesson learned.”
