Since winning the welterweight title at UFC 201, Tyron Woodley has been angling for a superfight with former champion Georges St-Pierre. Recently though, St-Pierre explained why he is uninterested in a fight with Woodley at the moment, saying that it doesn’t do enough for his legacy. But that’s alright with Woodley who recently revealed that he has his sights set on bigger (smaller?) fish.
Speaking on his TMZ show, The Hollywood Beatdown, recently, Woodley admitted that he will be working the desk at UFC 229 and that he has a vested interest in the outcome of the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor lightweight title fight.
“I’ll be there. I’ll be working the desk,” Woodley said. “I would think that if Khabib’s really about that action, he’s going to do what he says and it’s going to be really tough for Conor to have any lead in that arm to throw that knockout punch in the fourth or fifth round, so I would say Khabib [wins]. But just for selfish purposes, if Conor wins, then the only fight that makes sense is for him to fight me. Try to get a third belt.”
Woodley has a point. After McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight title, there was speculation that the Irish superstar would continue moving up in weight. After all, McGregor has fought twice at welterweight – splitting a pair of bouts with Nate Diaz – and there has been some public chirping between McGregor and Woodley to lay the groundwork for a champion versus champion fight. For instance, at the weigh-ins for UFC 205, Woodley and McGregor had a tense moment as McGregor appeared to size Woodley up. That near altercation, Woodley says, may be the thing that stands in the way of a fight with McGregor because “Notorious” knows how the fight would go.
“Conor thought he wanted smoke and then he realized he really didn’t,” Woodley said. “I would smash him. He’s too little. He’s got one punch. What fighter have I ever fought that’s been able to beat me with one tool?”
Woodley is currently in the middle of one of the great championship runs in UFC history, having successfully defended his belt four times since knocking out Robbie Lawler at UFC 201. Presumably his next opponent would be former interim welterweight champion Colby Covingtonas that would get “The Chosen One” one step closer to claiming the title of Greatest Welterweight of All Time. But there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and Woodley concludes, a fight with McGregor would also benefit his legacy and would be the most profitable possible fight for himself.
“From my analyst hat, my mind says Khabib, but my bank account and my legacy says Conor. I would take that fight in a heartbeat,” Woodley said.
Should the stars align and Woodley get his wish, a superfight with McGregor would still have to wait. Woodley is set to have surgery on his hand in October that will keep him out of action for up to 12 weeks.
