Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley set a record at their welterweight championship bout at UFC 214.
Unfortunately for them, it was not the type of record any UFC fighter wants to set. Woodley and Maia’s match holds the unflattering distinction of having the lowest number of strikes attempted in UFC history.
The match was not only criticized by fans — who loudly booed and, in the fifth round, shouted “boring” at the two fighters — but by UFC President Dana White himself.
White told reporters at the UFC 214 post fight press conference:
Listen, when you break a record for the least punches ever thrown in a five-round title fight, and you beat it, by I think it was like 130 [strikes] and these guys threw 60 or something like that, I think that sums it up.
He continued:
The guy [Maia] had one eye in the first round and you’re [Woodley] faster, you’re stronger, your hands are better, you’re explosive. I believe that Woodley could’ve finished that in the first round, and if not, he definitely could’ve finished it in the second round. If you had a remote control for that guy, he’s a freak of nature, he’d be an incredible fighter. Listen, it’s easy to say a win is a win but when you get booed out of an arena, that means people don’t want to watch you fight, you know. And that’s how you make a living. It’s not good if people don’t want to watch you fight.
Woodley isn’t the first UFC Welterweight Champion to be criticized for performances that weren’t exactly fan friendly. Georges St-Pierre, though popular and widely considered one of the best fighters in MMA history, was repeatedly criticized for his “lay and pray” style of and low number of finishes.
