Tyron Woodley releases statement on UFC 260 loss, enters free agency after completing contract

Tyron Woodley completed the final bout of his current UFC contract in a loss to Vicente Luque at UFC 260.

Woodley (19-7-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC), a former UFC welterweight champion, had his losing skid extended to four fights Saturday when he was submitted for the first time in his career against Luque (20-7-1 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in the co-headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

It was the “Fight of the Night,” but still not the result Woodley was looking for at such a critical point in his career. Now, there are a lot of questions about his future.

Woodley addressed the loss in the aftermath of UFC 260. He lived up to his promise to be more aggressive after being criticized for flat performances in the first three fights on his skid, but it didn’t pay off for him (via Instagram):

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A post shared by Tyron Woodley (@twooodley)

Shit was going really well until it wasn’t. My camp pushed me in ways I haven’t been pushed in a while. I committed, and swore to myself I would bring the tiger out that earned me gold. I saw the opportunity for the KO and got too excited. Payed a big cost. I don’t regret my aggression as that’s what God created me to do. @luquevicente is a tough and humble fighter. Was an honor to share the cage with you tonight.

Although all four of the losses in Woodley’s current skid came against elite names at 170 pounds in Luque, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and champ Kamaru Usman, it doesn’t appear there’s any interest on the UFC side to bring him back for more fights.

Dana White indicates Tyron Woodley’s UFC career is over: “39 (years old), that’s 4 in a row … yeah.”#UFC260 | Full interview: https://t.co/iLdKtItCwR pic.twitter.com/TOhhPxoeyA

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) March 28, 2021

UFC president Dana White was asked about Woodley’s future after the event, and he pointed to the losses and the fact “The Chosen One” turns 39 on April 7 as reasons this could be the end of the line for him in the UFC.

Whether Woodley is interested in continuing his fighting career outside the UFC remains to be seen.