Tyron Woodley opens as slight betting favorite over Colby Covington in title unification bout

Oddsmakers are giving Colby Covington a markedly better chance to beat UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley than they gave Demian Maia.

After opening for his last title defense as a more than 2-to-1 favorite to defeat Maia, Woodley (-140) opened only as a slight betting favorite over the interim UFC welterweight champion Covington (+110) in a potential title unification match between the two rivals, according to lines posted Wednesday by online sportsbook Bovada.

Covington recently defeated Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision at UFC 225 to capture the interim welterweight title and earn the next shot at Woodley. The controversial 30-year-old has vowed to defeat Woodley inside of three rounds whenever the two former training partners at American Top Team inevitably fight.

Woodley has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since his July 2017 decision win over Maia, which marked the third defense of his UFC welterweight title. In a fiery interview Monday on The MMA Hour, Woodley promised to “embarrass” the trash-talking Covington and beat him so badly that he never fights again in MMA.

“He’s a disgrace,” Woodley said of Covington. “He’s the sh*t on the bottom of my foot when I walk through the park. That’s what he is.

“I’m not going to make it fast. It’s not going to be in the first round. I’m going to talk to him, I’m going to embarrass him, and I’m going to do it the entire fight. And if the referee gets close, I’m going to say, ‘Move back, brother. I’ll tell you when to step in and stop this fight. Don’t f*cking come in here to save his life. Let him take this fade. Let him take this ‘L.’ Let him take this ass-whooping.’ Because I don’t want him to ever fight again. Like, I wouldn’t care if he didn’t make out of the Octagon — and I’m dead-ass serious about that.”

The UFC has yet to announce a date and venue for Woodley vs. Covington.