Tyron Woodley is a former high school and college wrestling champion who has been able to build a professional career as a mixed martial artist, fighting under the Strikeforce and Ultimate Fighting Championship organizations. The owner of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt was the 2018 reigning UFC welterweight world champion and set the record for the best takedown defense in UFC history.
Tyron Woodley Biography
Tyron Woodley was born the eleventh of thirteen children of his parents, Sylvester and Deborah Woodley, on April 7, 1982, in Ferguson, Missouri, and was named Tyron Lakent Woodley, but was raised only by his mother after his father left the family. Like any other child in a low-income household, Woodley saw sports as a way out of poverty.
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He attended McCluer High School, where he competed in amateur wrestling and on the American football team. After graduating in 2000 with a 48-0 record and being named a National High School Coaches Association Senior All-American and a Missouri State High School Activities Association All-State, Woodley enrolled at the University of Missouri. In Missouri, he participated in the school’s ring program as he pursued a degree in agricultural economics. By the time he graduated in 2005, he had twice been All-American in NCAA Division I and a Big 12 Conference Champion with over 100 wins.
Next, Woodley worked as a college wrestling coach and began an amateur wrestling career that would eventually turn him into a professional. He reportedly set a 7-0 amateur MMA record after winning the 2006 Real Pro Wrestling 84 kg Northern Regional Championship and finishing second at this year’s USA Wrestling National Championship. By 2009, Woodley was able to go pro by making his professional wrestling debut against Steve Schnider and winning it by submission in the first round. His second professional fight was according to the script, as he won it in the first round also by submission.
Tyron Woodley’s big breakthrough came in his third professional fight at ‘Strikeforce’: Lawler vs. Shields on June 6, 2009, where he was signed to a six-round contract by the MMA organization Strikeforce after winning the first round again by submission. Woodley enjoyed seven more fight wins before he suffered his first defeat in July 2012 against Nate Marquardt in the fight for the Strikeforce World Championship in July 2012. His next fight was at the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 156, where he faced Jay Hieron and defeated him in just six seconds.
On July 30, 2016, Woodley won the UFC Welterweight World Championship against the reigning champion Robbie Lawler. Since then he has been able to keep his belt against three challengers. The talented fighter, who seems to have conquered his league, has started an acting career. His best-known performances are in Straight Outta Compton (2015) and Escape Plan 2: Hades (2017). He has also immersed himself in the media world, working as a radio analyst and hosting his own podcast entitled “Morning Wood with Deez Nutz”.
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Tyron Woodley Wife
Tyron Woodley is married to the former University City School District educator who became a fitness guru, Averi Woodley, whom he met in high school and with whom he later reconnected at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Averi Woodley holds a degree in sociology from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After graduating, she began working as an educator before later teaming up with her husband to open a gym called ATT Evolution in 2011. By 2015, she founded her own women-only fitness program called Bad Bish Boot Camp, created to help women achieve specific health and lifestyle goals.
It is not clear exactly when the couple exchanged vows, but according to a 2017 social media post by Mrs. Woodley celebrating the sixth anniversary of her and her husband’s marriage, the couple got married sometime in 2011. Together they have three children of their own named Darron, Dylan, and Gabby. This in addition to the children they each had from different relationships before they met.
Height, Weight, and Body Measurements
Tyron Woodley is of average height. He measures 5 feet 9 inches or 175 cm and weighs about 170 pounds or 77 kg. He also has an arm length of 74 inches and a leg length of 42 inches. As a fighter, Tyron does a lot of hard work in training to maintain his physique, no wonder he sees a perfectly tattered body.
