Former UFC champ Tyron Woodley returns, draws No. 10-ranked Joaquin Buckley
· Yahoo Sports
T-Wood is back!
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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is officially returning to his roots, set to compete at Real American Freestyle (RAF) 12 against No. 10-ranked Welterweight Joaquin Buckley in a catchweight match on Sat., Aug. 22, 2026, inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
2X All-American Tyron Woodley returns to the mat to face Joaquin Buckley in Cleveland.
— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA) June 17, 2026
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Before his tremendous UFC career — in which he captured Welterweight gold and defended it four times — Woodley laid the foundation for his combat sports legacy as a powerhouse wrestler at the University of Missouri.
During his time at Missouri, Woodley became Mizzou’s first individual Big 12 Conference wrestling champion in 2003, compiled a 110-38 career record, qualified for the NCAA Division I national tournament three times, and earned All-American honors twice.
He was also a three-time team captain, and his leadership and success on the mat helped elevate the “Tiger Style” program to national prominence, ultimately earning him an induction into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.
Unfortunately for “The Chosen One,” his combat sports career has been pretty rough since 2019, when he lost the Welterweight title to Kamaru Usman. Woodley is currently riding a four-fight losing streak in MMA and has also lost all three of his boxing matches, getting knocked out in his last two against Anderson Silva and Jake Paul.
But now, Woodley gets to return to his first love — wrestling.
As for Buckley, he is returning to RAF after losing his promotional debut to wrestling bad boy Pat Downey via technical fall. “New Mansa” is also riding a two-fight losing streak in UFC and most recently got dominated by Sean Brady.
Wrestling icon Jordan Burroughs is also set to return to the mat at RAF 12, but he does not have an opponent just yet.
Before RAF 12 goes down, RAF still has two events on deck: RAF Georgia on July 11 and RAF 11 in Milwaukee on July 18.
For much more on RAF and wrestling news click here.