UFC 205 results: A majority draw leads to confusion, but Woodley retains title

Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson delivered a tremendous welterweight title fight on Saturday night

Tyron Woodley and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson put on a phenomenal show in their welterweight title fight on Saturday night at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden.

Woodley dominated the first round after taking Thompson down and controlling him from the top for the majority of the round. An elbow from Woodley late in the round busted open Thompson's nose and the champion was clearly in front going into the second round.

Thompson was able to keep the fight standing up in the second and third rounds, using his unorthodox style to frustrate Woodley and land some sharp jabs and hard leg kicks and body kicks -- a spinning back kick to Woodley's stomach in the second round seemed to turn the fight's momentum in Thompson's favor.

In the fourth round, Woodley finally got his powerful right hand to connect and sent Thompson to the ground twice with hard right hands and looked like he would finish him in the same way he finished Robbie Lawler at UFC 201. However, Thompson kept battling and Woodley went for a guillotine choke. Despite having the guillotine locked in for the better part of a minute, Thompson did not tap and showed incredible fight to get loose and finish the round in top control.

The final round appeared to be controlled by Thompson, as Woodley seemed gassed from his effort in the fourth round to finish the fight. However, the domination of the fourth round earned him a 10-8 score on all of the cards, leading to two 47-47 cards and one 48-47 card in favor of Woodley.

The result was initially read as a split decision, but correctly changed to a majority draw -- meaning two judges ruled it a draw and only one had it as a decision. In either event, the champion retains the belt, but it matters for the record -- and also for Wonderboy's likelihood of getting a rematch. It's the third draw in the history of UFC championship fights -- the others being between BJ Penn-Caol Uno and Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard.

Woodley noted after the fight that he should have kept the pressure on Thompson by trying to finish him for a knockout rather than go for the choke in the fourth round. While a different decision may have finished the fight, he still leaves Madison Square Garden with the welterweight title.