On Saturday night Tyron Woodley retained his UFC Welterweight crown with an emphatic victory over young pretender Darren Till.

The UFC 228 main event was set up to be the coronation of a new king, with Champion Woodley coming into the fight as underdog against the much heralded Brit.

However it was the American who controlled the bout from start to finish to successfully defend his belt for the fourth time since winning it over Robbie Lawler two years ago.

Blitz the gameplan

Till, the bigger more imposing man stalled Woodley for much of the first round however wary of the threats posed by T-Wood, the Liverpudlian was cautious to let his strikes go.

Woodley by contrast was able to implement his gameplan, keeping Till off balanced with his bitzing style, the threat of power right hand and superior wrestling.

We saw the best of Woodley in this fight.

Patient on the feet, able to close the gap and grapple the bigger man against the fence. Even though Till did well with his 'anti-wrestling', preventing the takedown and occasionally turning 'The Chosen One', it was Woodley who dominated the grappling.

When Till finally to exchanging in the second round, it was a decision that ultimately led to his demise.

From southpaw, Till attempted a sloppy lead hand uppercut followed by the straight left, only to be cut off by Woodley who throw a pull counter right hand that caught Till firmly on the chin, dropping him to the canvas.

Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion summed up Till's critical error up best:

The only person who should ever throw a lead uppercut, punch down the middle is Conor McGregor. He is the only person that has successfully done that time and time again. Everyone else... stop!

Once the fight hit the floor it was a wrap. Woodley got on top of Till, hitting him with some vicious ground and pound from inside the guard. Till showed his toughness to survive the beating. However Woodley eventually transitioned to side control and sunk in a D'arce choke on a dazed Till who was forced to tap.

It was another notch on the belt on the criminally underrated Woodley.*

Unwanted Champion

It is no secret that the UFC top brass have taken a dislike to Woodley. Partly due to complains and demands Woodley has made. Partly due to him not being the 'marketable' champ the organisation desperately needs in one of it's marquee divisions.

Till and Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson have both been hyped as Champions in waiting by the UFC. Rather than doing this in unison with promoting Woodley, they have done it at the expense of him.

Before the fight UFC president Dana White slated Woodley while praising Till, stating the bout was

A huge opportunity for Till to become a huge star... there has been plenty of opportunity for Tyron Woodley to become a big star but he also likes to shot himself in the foot so...

While there is some truth to White's words, Woodley hasn't really gone out of his way to endear himself to the fans. The UFC haven't put their weight behind him. Floyd Mayweather, as a personality, is not exactly loved by boxing fans however he has been promoted in a way that makes the fans want to flock and see 'one of the greatest of our era' demonstrate his cerebral defensive boxing skills.

Woodley by contrast gets trashed for his displays of exceptional fighting IQ against Wonderboy, with White labelling him as boring. Til's equally 'boring' display against Thompson being overlooked.

And even though Woodley put on a Fight Of the Night performance against Till, White could bearing disguise his annoyance as as he put the belt around the Champs waist:

White also missed an opportunity to capitalised and hype Woodley's win by not showing up for the post fight press-conference. While there is no suggestion that White didn't have a legitimate reason not to attend, it still adds fuel to the fire that the UFC don't want to get behind Woodley.

Chasing Golden Gooses

I believe the "Money McGregor" era has a lot to answer for. In the quest to find the next rating puller (be it the next Conor, the next Brock or the next Rousey) the UFC can often be perceived as shitting on it's existing fighters if they don't (for whatever reason) have mass appeal.

In my view the UFC has been guilty of under-promoting other fighters too. The former Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic and former Flyweight Champ, Demetrius Johnson being prime examples.

Miocic in particular, who was written off against largely untested Francis Ngannou, primarily because Ngannou 'looked like a superhero' and had a highlight reel knock-out to prove it.

For an organisation that has a role to promote all the fighters on it's roster, the UFC has done a poor job in disguising its propensity for playing favourites.

The appeal of UFC figurehead Dana White is that he thinks like a fan.

Fans have favourites, like exciting brawls (over technical fights) and by into the hype. The UFC, to it's credit, has done a fantastic job of capitalising on this and have turned mma from a fringe to a mainstream sport.

However there has been collateral damage along the way, with elite and technical fighters who don't fit the e-type being discarded along the way.

One fighter is fighting back from the margins. That man is Tyron Woodley.

Woodley simply will not go away. He has now beaten Robbie Lawler and Darren Till in spectacular fashion. He has also technically neutralised the unique challenges posed by Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia. Woodley has proved he is not just an athletic wrestler/ puncher. He also has one the highest fighting IQs in the game.

Woodley is in the top of his game and is thriving in his role as an anti-hero.

However history has a strange way redefining the popular current day narrative. In a few years time the UFC may look back at a GOAT in their midst... that they couldn't see through the fog of their hype machine.