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After a disappointing loss to Rory MacDonald at UFC 174, Tyron Woodley gets an immediate shot at redemption.
Stepping In
After an injury forced Hector Lombard off his UFC Fight Night 48 bout against Korean Dong Hyun Kim on August 23 at the Cotai Arena in Macau, UFC President Dana White announced on Tuesday that Woodley would be stepping in for Lombard.
It was learned that Lombard had to withdraw from the match due to a “pretty-sized herniated cervical disc that was “pinching one of his nerves”. His doctor told him that he would be out action for at least three months. However, it was not yet determined if the injury would require surgery.
Out for Redemption
Upon learning of the vacancy, Woodley immediately agreed to take the fight, hoping to erase the stigma of his lackluster performance against Rory MacDonald barely two weeks ago.
Woodley had started the year big with an impressive second round finish of Carlos Condit at UFC 171 which moved him up the #3 rankings in the UFC’s Welterweight division. He got his chance to fight #2 Rory MacDonald at UFC 174 to get closer to the title picture. But MacDonald virtually shut him down for three rounds, rendering him heavy punishment while keeping him off his game.
But with this new opportunity, Woodley hopes to hop right back into the rankings and back to contender status. Woodley is 3-2 in the UFC but has a record of 13-3 with 4 KOs and 5 submissions.
Korean Stun Gun
Dong Hyun Kim is a 13 fight UFC veteran who used to compete in Japan’s DEEP circuit and Korean promotion Spirit. He owns a record of 19-2-1 with 8 KOs and 1 submission. Kim is 10-2-1 in the UFC with 3 KO’s. His only losses were to Carlos Condit at UFC 132 (by KO) and to Demain Maia in UFC 148 when he was forced to retire with a major muscle spasm.
The Korean Stun Gun has won four straight matches including wins over prospects Paulo Thiago and Erick Silva. Kim’s last fight was a sensational spinning back elbow KO of John Hathaway last March 1 in Macau which earned him the Performance of the Night award. Kim also won Knockout of the Night honors when he punched out Erick Silva in Brazil last October 9, 2013.
Lombard (34-4-1 with 19 KOs and 7 submissions) was on a two fight winning streak since moving to the welterweight division. He was dominant in both victories as he submitted Nate Marquardt at UFC 166 and decisioned Jake Shields at UFC 171. But his injury will keep him from his rise to the top of the 170 lbs. weight class. Lombard was the former Cage Fighting Championship Middleweight champion and the Bellator Middleweight champion.
Co-main Event
The Kim-Woodley bout will be the co-main event in the fight card which headlines a middleweight battle between Michael “The Count” Bisping and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le. The bout will be Le’s first since his Knockout of the Night victory over Rich Franklin at UFC on Fuel last November 10, 2012. Bisping meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Tim Kennedy in the Ultimate Fighter Nations finale last April 16, 2014.
