Tyron Woodley Reflects on Hitting Rock Bottom After Loss to Kamaru Usman

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has opened up about the severe mental toll he experienced following the loss of his title to Kamaru Usman. Entering that bout, Woodley (19-7) had gone unbeaten across seven consecutive appearances since 2014, a dominant stretch that featured four successful title defenses before Usman dethroned him via a one-sided unanimous decision.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Woodley admitted that dropping the belt sent him spiraling into depression and made him feel like a target of public ridicule. "Rock bottom is when I thought everybody was laughing at me," Woodley said. "During my title reign, I was in a divorce; I had a girlfriend; I had a kid.

I had all this stuff; I was spending $40,000 a month; being dumb… When I lost the belt, it was like a state of depression where I felt like everybody finally got what they [wanted]. That was a harvest from the season before, but I had to eat sh*t." He also revealed that close friend and UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson tried for a long time to help pull him out of his depression.

Woodley never managed to regain his footing inside the Octagon, parting ways with the UFC in 2021 on a four-fight losing skid. His struggles continued across combat sports, suffering three consecutive defeats in boxing—including a knockout loss against Jake Paul.

The former champion finally snapped his winless drought on the wrestling mat with a victory over Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12, noting he breathed a sigh of relief after that win. Earlier this month, Woodley competed again in wrestling at RAF Moscow, where he suffered a pinfall loss to Khamzat Chimaev.