“T-Wood” finally got his hand raised.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley scored his first combat sports victory in nearly eight years last night (Sat., Aug. 22, 2026), mounting an incredible comeback to defeat Joaquin Buckley at Real American Freestyle (RAF) 12 inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Things looked disastrous for Woodley early.
Despite having no high-level wrestling background, Buckley scored two four-point throws in the opening period. Woodley managed one step-out point but entered the second period trailing 8-1 and sitting just two points away from a technical-fall loss.
Then, the former two-time NCAA Division I All-American woke up.
Woodley collected two step-out points before scoring a four-point gut-wrench sequence just before the horn, trimming Buckley’s lead to 8-7. “The Chosen One” tied the match with another step-out in the final period and then countered Buckley’s last-ditch attack with a four-point takedown. He added two more points before time expired to seal a thrilling 14-8 victory.
Woodley scored 13 unanswered points to complete the comeback.
Check out the highlights below:
Tyron Woodley just came back down 8-1 to Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12 🤯
His first combat sports win since 2018 pic.twitter.com/7pmWRIbdPa
“I didn’t lose my composure,” Woodley said afterward. “I said, ‘Tyron, you’re going to win tonight. You’re going to win tonight. You’re going to win tonight.’ And I won!”
The victory was Woodley’s first in any combat sport since he submitted Darren Till at UFC 228 in Sept. 2018. Woodley subsequently lost four consecutive UFC fights — including his Welterweight title loss to Kamaru Usman — before dropping three boxing matches againstJake Paul (twice) and Anderson Silva.
Woodley will not have much time to celebrate. The 44-year-old returns at RAF Moscow on Sept. 5, where he will wrestle former UFC Middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev in the main event.
For more RAF news and notes click here.
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