Tyron Woodley Plans MMA Comeback at 44, Rides Hard for Din Thomas

Tyron Woodley wants back in the cage. The former UFC welterweight champion, now 44, says fans will see him fight MMA again this year — his final act in a career that's gone quiet since he beat Darren Till in 2019, his last win in any competition. Before that, though, there's a busier stretch: a grappling-style RAF booking against Joaquin Buckley this Saturday, then a trip to Russia to main event opposite former UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev.

Woodley hasn't fought MMA since 2021, pivoting to boxing where he twice lost to Jake Paul. The comeback plan is real, though — he's talking with Bellator veteran promoter Scott Coker, working behind the scenes as a consultant with Nakisa Bidarian, and name-checked the not-yet-launched GFL, which he says is targeting an October or November arrival. Plenty of doors, in other words. He just needs to walk through one.

The Din Thomas Fallout

The comeback chatter came wrapped inside a messier story. Woodley's longtime coach Din Thomas announced he was quitting cornering right after watching Gillian Robertson — the #5-ranked strawweight, now 17-9 — drop a lopsided decision to Mackenzie Dern in the UFC 330 co-main. Thomas apologized for the timing, calling it 'despicable,' but middleweight champ Sean Strickland torched him online as a 'shit coach' anyway. Woodley fired back via private message; Strickland promptly posted it.

Woodley didn't back down, but he did catch himself. He admitted his instinct to defend Thomas got the better of him, and he acknowledged the irony: he was blasting people for speaking their minds while insisting Thomas had every right to do exactly that. Freedom of speech cuts both ways, he reasoned. He went straight to the source rather than fanning the flames publicly — and says the exchange ended in mutual respect. He's not apologizing for having his coach's back.

The loyalty runs deep. Woodley and Thomas started working together at American Top Team and kept the relationship going even after Woodley left the gym. He called Thomas one of the most beautiful minds in the sport and made clear, in no uncertain terms, that he'll go to war over the man.

Why the Clock Matters

The hardest part of a return, Woodley says, isn't the training — it's rebuilding a team. His head coach Duke Roufus died in 2025, and Thomas isn't cornering anymore. That's the emotional weight, not the fear of stepping in there. Woodley's a two-time All-American wrestler, so the grappling roots run deep, and RAF lets him lean into that pedigree before the MMA return.

He's honest about the drought, too. No wins since Till. Woodley pointed to habits during his title reign he's not proud of, the kind of stuff that catches up with you. He framed this final stretch as a reminder to anyone who forgot what he brought to the table — a last run, on his own terms, before the season ends.