Woodley: Wonderboy is the Welterweight Gatekeeper

[marwash]

“‘Wonderboy’ the gatekeeper,” Woodley said earlier this week during Q&A on Instagram Live (h/t MMAjunkie). “He’ll do all my light work for me. All the dudes that think they want a shot at the strap, they’ve got to go through him, and ain’t nobody do it yet. I think Thompson (will win) man, to be honest. I know I’ve talked a lot of trash about Thompson, more in light joking. But Thompson is a very difficult puzzle to figure out. And it took me a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of training partners to figure him out.

“I just don’t think Till has what it takes to take him out. With that said, I’ve got to go with ‘Wonderboy,’ even though he’s never said I was going to win a fight. But I’m just going to be a real guy and be honest: I think he’s going to win.”

let's say for a second that it's true, that Wonderboy is a gatekeeper; let's also say Wonderboy beats Till like Tyron predicts...

A gatekeeper is a fighter in a division who, if you can beat, you put yourself in title contention, or at the very least, the discussion of top contenders in the division.

...So, is a fighter a gatekeeper if nobody ever gets past the gates? If Tyron remains champ for years to come and no one besides him ever beats Wonderboy, what does that make Wonderboy?

 

[Amianto]

I just don't see the style of Wonderboy being enough to win the belt.

 

[Mr Wings]

Interim champ

 

[ostlerrage]

cept that wonderboy beat woodley in the first imo.

 

[TheHNICuLuv2Hate]

Wonderboy is the WW co-champion.

 

[HornyRhino]

#1 contender =\= gatekeeper
Donald Cerrone= gatekeeper

 

[Si2k63]

what does that make Wonderboy?

The Daniel Cormier of WW.

 

[Crimson Glory]

Always considered a Gatekeeper to be a perennial top 10 fighter who never got to the top(never held or fought for the title)

WB is a title challenger, different in my view.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I see someone like Masvidal as a gatekeeper.

 

[Gambit MMA]

Lol, that sounds like he’s gonna make the excuse “uhhh you gotta beat wonderboy” for you to get a title shot. Is he going to tell a guy on a 7-8 fight win streak beating a few top 10 guys that they don’t deserve a shot because they didn’t fight/beat Thompson? Sounds dumb lol

He got his title shot off a split decision after sitting out for 1.5 years. Robbie didn’t say hey Tyron you gotta beat Rory

 

[Fatback96]

He arguably went to 2 draws with the current champ. If anything both are champ.

 

[marwash]

Always considered a Gatekeeper to be a perennial top 10 fighter who never got to the top(never held or fought for the title)

WB is a title challenger, different in my view.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I see someone like Masvidal as a gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers at 170 right now are Maia or Magney, imo.

 

[marwash]

Lol, that sounds like he’s gonna make the excuse “uhhh you gotta beat wonderboy” for you to get a title shot. Is he going to tell a guy on a 7-8 fight win streak beating a few top 10 guys that they don’t deserve a shot because they didn’t fight/beat Thompson? Sounds dumb lol

He got his title shot off a split decision after sitting out for 1.5 years. Robbie didn’t say hey Tyron you gotta beat Rory

it also sounds like he's hyping Wonderboy just because he has 2 wins over him.


"Wonderboy is the greatest, but I beat him, so how great does that make me"?

 

[Luke Thomas Rockhold]

 

[xMaxPower]

he's the gatekeeper untill tyron loses.

First and second fights were boring and Wonderboy lost both. Theyre not going to want to schedule that matchup again.

 

[BrookinsFan]

Wonderboy is the WW co-champion.

 

[Spoken]

Always considered a Gatekeeper to be a perennial top 10 fighter who never got to the top(never held or fought for the title)

WB is a title challenger, different in my view.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I see someone like Masvidal as a gatekeeper.

This was my interpretation. Dudes who want top 10 stays need to fight X. But Twood makes a fine point: wonderboy is tough to beat, and if you beat him, you deserve a shot.

I think this currently rings true.

 

[Flokk]

Wonderboy is like Gus. Long, pasty, and loses to an explosive and athletic champ.

That's why he has a special place in Sherdog's withered heart.

 

[ccc_halliway]

let's say for a second that it's true, that Wonderboy is a gatekeeper; let's also say Wonderboy beats Till like Tyron predicts...

A gatekeeper is a fighter in a division who, if you can beat, you put yourself in title contention, or at the very least, the discussion of top contenders in the division.

...So, is a fighter a gatekeeper if nobody ever gets past the gates? If Tyron remains champ for years to come and no one besides him ever beats Wonderboy, what does that make Wonderboy?

Stephen Thompson is the Jon Fitch of 2018

 

[MuddyGrass]

If Tyron remains champ for years to come and no one besides him ever beats Wonderboy, what does that make Wonderboy?

Gatekeeper.

 

[Megatun]

That he couldn't finish.