Tyron Woodley on Straight Outta Compton

The #3 UFC welterweight Tyron Woodley’s first encounter with the seminal rap album Straight Outta Compton came at a price.

I remember getting my butt whupped for listening to that, he told Thomas Gerbasi for UFC.com, laughing. My dad was a pastor, and I was sneaking it. Back in the day we used to dub a tape and cover up the part on top so we could actually record over it. I had it labeled as something that it wasn’t, and man, I got the skin torn off me for listening to it.

At the time, there was not a ton of gangsta rap out, and it really changed the game. They were just street reporters. They told people what was going on in Compton. They didn’t tell you to go out there and do it yourself, but they expressed what they were going through, their frustration with the police officers, and just how it was to grow up in that area. I appreciate what they did, they evolved, and they put themselves in a better position.

The film Straight Outta Compton debuts on Friday, and Woodley is no longer getting spanked for listening to it, he has a role. The fighter is also an actor, and plays Da Lench Mob’s T-Bone.

I’m excited about it, said Wodley. It was a great opportunity for me to be showcased in a historical film, so I’m pumped about it. And it’s important because somebody had to have the balls to make this film. It’s a film that a lot of people may not have originally wanted to happen, and Universal stepped up and said ‘we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna tell this story and we’re gonna put it out there.’

It’s all humbling. It’s all part of the process, but I didn’t ever foresee any of these things happening. It’s just a blessing and I try to remain humble and modest as these things are happening. Wiz Khalifa hit me up and wanted me to come to his show, some other rappers did the same thing. People who saw a private screening already told me that I got a lot of camera time in the movie, and I’m excited about this. I’ve been in some films before, but this is a big step for me.

Woodley was raised in Ferguson, Missouri, the site of continued protests against over aggressive policing, following the shooting of Michael Brown just over one year ago.

Woodley was the eleventh of thirteen children born to Sylvester and Deborah Woodley. His father left when he was young. Despite being raised by a single mother far from wealth, Tyron excelled, making honor roll in high school every semester, and was 48-0 his final season of wrestling, winning states. He attended the University of Missouri on a wrestling scholarship, graduating with a degree in Agricultural Economics in 2005. Thus the film carries a special resonance for him.

It (the album) meant a lot because it showed kids from the inner city and kids from the hood that found a way to make it out, he said. And that’s my story as well.

Woodley’s next project is a fight with Johny Hendricks at UFC 192 on Oct. 5 in Houston, Texas. Winner is expected to get a title shot.