FiveKnuckles.com: I'm going to ask you the same question I asked Ben Askren who was a teammate of yours at Mizzou. Is MMA that next stage for collegiate wrestlers?

Tyron Woodley: It is, but on a smaller scale. For a football player to get drafted to the NFL he has to be an amazing player. Very few sub-par football players make it into the NFL. MMA isn't really like that. Anybody who wants a shot and takes it seriously can sign a contract for a fight. The people that advance in MMA are the ones who treat it as a discipline and take it as serious as they would any other sport. At the top level of MMA you can start comparing guys like GSP and some of the better heavyweights to athletes in other sports. There's a huge variance in how you see guys get paid. There's definitely more involved for a fighter than just being good. Marketing and entertainment value are just a couple examples.

FiveKnuckles.com: With that being said, how are you prepared to make your own impact?

Tyron Woodley: People want to see real. I have a feeling like the fans are getting sick and tired of seeing morons. There are enough guys out there giving the sport a bad name so that leaves room for the genuine fighters to step up and take the sport back. People can sense real. They can sense genuine. When they see my energy, they know I'm for real about what I'm saying. When I'm training and getting ready for a fight, I change so much that even the people I've known my whole life don't know who I am. If an opportunity presents itself, then I want to seize it. I always try to think a couple steps ahead and cover all angles. I try to have my escape planned at all times. MMA is definitely a thinking man's games. Just like any other competition winning is the ultimate goal. I never let the idea of finishing the fight slip my mind because that's the purpose of this whole thing. I've been competing long enough to understand that an opponent gives up a fight by getting tired, or giving up their will, long before tapping out. That's where TKO's come into play. If I'm continually trying to finish guys and my conditioning is where it needs to be, I can keep up the pace for 15-25 minutes, so whether I finish my opponent or not, I'll earn the victory every single round.

FiveKnuckles.com: You're 5-0 as a pro with quick finishes in all of your fights thus far. Are you content with the way your career has gone so far?