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ufc 205

Woodley retains welterweight title after epic Wonderboy clash ends in a draw

Joanna Jedrzejczyk retained her strawweight title in the first of UFC 205′s title fights.

– Paul Dollery reports from Madison Square Garden, New York

TYRON WOODLEY RETAINED his UFC welterweight title following an enthralling battle with Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 205.

The co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York went the distance, but Woodley had to settle for a draw in his inaugural outing as the title-holder in the 170lbs division.

Woodley made a tentative start to his tenure as champion, circling on the outside to stay beyond range as Thompson took the centre of the octagon.

But when Thompson threw a second head-kick, Woodley was able to counter with a takedown which brought him into half-guard. The champion stayed in top position until the end of the round and chipped away at the challenger with strikes which left him bloodied.

Conscious of the reach advantage and striking arsenal that his opponent possessed, Woodley came out with a cautious approach again in the second round in order to stay out of harm’s way. But Thompson was gradually finding a home for his shots as he appeared to draw level on the scorecards.

Woodley was initially more offensive in the third, as he pressed forward in an attempt to utilise the punching power that helped him to dethrone Robbie Lawler with a first-round KO in July. Thompson’s precision gave him the edge in the striking exchanges but Woodley grew in confidence as he began to connect more often.

Ninety seconds into the fourth, Woodley dropped Thompson with a big right hand. The challenger was quickly back to his feet but the champion swarmed him with punches and knees before locking on a guillotine choke.

Incredibly, with a minute remaining in the round, a resilient Thompson somehow managed to break free and fire off a flurry of ground and pound until the bell came to Woodley’s rescue.

The pair slugged it out on the feet for the duration of the fifth and final round, at the end of which Woodley was initially — but incorrectly — awarded a victory.

However, with two of the three judges scoring the bout as a draw — 47-47 — and only one giving it to Woodley — 48-47 — announcer Bruce Buffer rectified the result as a majority draw.

Woodley retains the belt, but Thompson suggested a rematch which was warmly received by a New York crowd that was captivated by a thrilling contest.

Earlier, Joanna Jedrzejczyk survived a scare against the teak-tough Karolina Kowalkiewicz to retain her unbeaten record and her strawweight title at UFC 205 in New York.

Jedrzejczyk won the first of three title fights on a historic night in Madison Square Garden, taking a unanimous decision over her fellow countrywoman, 49-46, 49-46, 49-46.

This was arguably the toughest test of the champion’s career to date and, after taking the first three rounds, Jedrzejczyk had to dig deep to survive when she was rocked by a big right hand midway through the fourth.

Jedrzejczyk was by far the busier fighter throughout, landing more than three times as many significant strikes over the course of the five rounds.

“I wasn’t hurt very badly but you never expect the knockdown so you don’t know what’s going on,” Jedrzejczyk said afterwards. “It was just for a second.

“Polish girls are probably the toughest in the world. Karolina was a very good challenger for me.”

– Additional reporting by Niall Kelly

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