Tyron Woodley says Khamzat Chimaev looks more beatable than Joaquin Buckley after RAF 12 win

Tyron Woodley’s first victory in roughly eight years arrived at RAF 12, and it came with a message beyond the result. In the wake of his win over Joaquin Buckley in Cleveland, the former UFC welterweight champion pointed to his renewed belief in his ability to contend again, and he quickly shifted attention to a potential future fight with another familiar name, Khamzat Chimaev.

According to reporting from Yahoo Sports, Woodley described the confidence boost as something like a reset, saying he feels “like a man reborn” after ending a long stretch without a win. Just as importantly, the former champion did not treat the RAF 12 performance as a one-off. He used it as a reference point for how he believes Chimaev’s path could compare to the one he just navigated against Buckley.

Woodley’s assessment, as presented in the Yahoo Sports story, is that Chimaev will be easier to beat in RAF than Buckley was. The framing matters because it tells you what Woodley thinks he learned in Cleveland: the way he assesses danger is not limited to rankings or reputation, but to what he experienced in a specific fight context, with a specific opponent and matchup style.

Joaquin Buckley, whose name is tied directly to Woodley’s RAF 12 win in the report, is the benchmark Woodley is contrasting against. Buckley has typically been identified in combat sports coverage for an ability to change the shape of a fight quickly, and Woodley’s comments effectively suggest that whatever made Buckley difficult also helped him clarify what he needs to do moving forward. By calling Chimaev more beatable, Woodley is indicating that he sees Chimaev as a less complicated threat, at least in his own mental model of RAF matchups.

Khamzat Chimaev, like Woodley, is a former UFC figure with a mainstream fanbase and a style that has often drawn attention across multiple weight classes and hype cycles. In that sense, Woodley’s comments are not just about one fight. They are part of the ongoing effort by fighters with name value to influence the next decision makers, whether that means promoters, matchmaking committees, or audiences who determine what matchups are most attractive.

There is a caveat in interpreting this kind of post-fight comparison. Fighter-to-fighter talk usually reflects immediate momentum and personal confidence, not an objective projection. Also, the Yahoo Sports piece is focused on Woodley’s stance and mindset rather than providing confirmed details about what bout, if any, is scheduled with Chimaev. Until official RAF match-making updates are released, Woodley’s view should be treated as commentary on perceived matchup difficulty rather than a public contract of what is next.

Still, the broader storyline is clear: Woodley is positioning himself for relevance, and he is doing it by translating a long winless gap into a credible springboard. If RAF continues to build cards around recognizable UFC alumni and name-driven prospects, Woodley’s confidence and his willingness to call out specific opponents will likely remain part of the sport’s center of gravity, shaping how quickly he can return to the kinds of fights that matter most in headline terms.