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Title-Bound Woodley Not Surprised by Game Daley’s Resilience

Tyron Woodley is still undefeated, but retaining his flawless record was no easy task Saturday night.

The former University of Missouri wrestler had his hands full with a game Paul Daley at Strikeforce and M-1 Global’s “Fedor vs. Henderson,” which emanated from the Sears Centre in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Ill.

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Though Woodley (Pictured; file photo) attacked early and often with his renowned wrestling, Daley exhibited stout takedown defense through much of the contest, a fact that Woodley found unsurprising.

“When we got into the later rounds, he was really sweaty, so it was hard to get a good grip,” said Woodley in a post-fight interview with Showtime Sports. “He’s a strong guy with a really wide body, so it was hard to take him down. I knew that going in, and I knew I had to have good setups and keep pressing.”

Prior to the bout, some felt that Woodley might cruise to victory due to his considerable wrestling pedigree and Daley’s past difficulties against high-level grapplers such as Josh Koscheck and Jake Shields. Instead, the British striker held his own for the contest’s duration, stuffing multiple takedowns and stifling much of Woodley’s attempted ground-and-pound when the fight did hit the floor.

To Woodley’s credit, he appeared generally comfortable in controlling Daley, despite “Semtex” continually looking to scramble.

“He had a hard time getting off his back,” said Woodley. “After a few attempts and some good setups, I got him on his back, which he said I wasn’t going to do. So, I definitely think I exposed [some holes]. It was a good fight for me. I had to dig really dig and press, and I was happy I did it.”

In the third round, Daley appeared to be the fresher of the two, landing his best punches of the fight while Woodley’s shots appeared more desperate. Despite this, Woodley would match Daley’s gameness and weather the Brit’s late offense to ride out his unanimous decision win.

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I knew I was going to have to train harder than he did. [I thought] he would probably utilize his striking and try to sprawl and brawl,” said Woodley. “I knew I had to be slick in getting inside, because he's a strong guy. I couldn’t get frustrated when I didn’t take him down, and I had to just keep going for it, which I did.”

With a ninth consecutive victory now under his belt, Woodley appears poised to compete for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title in his next contest. According to the fighter, he’s ready for that challenge, even though his potential opponent has yet to be named.

“Title [fight] next,” said Woodley. “Let’s do it.”
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