At Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 9 post-fight media scrum in Sacramento, UFC president Dana White indicated that Tyron Woodley had been relentlessly texting him, looking for a big fight.
White also said Woodley wouldn’t get the fight with Carlos Condit that Nick Diaz turned down earlier in the evening.
But sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, White had a change of heart. The UFC’s UK Twitter reported on Tuesday that Condit and Woodley will meet at UFC 171 in Dallas.
Condit, the former UFC interim and WEC welterweight champion, was scheduled to take on Matt Brown on Dec. 14 in Sacramento, but Brown had to pull out late due to suffering herniated discs in his back late in training camp. Condit (29-7) lost back-to-back fights to Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks, but rebounded in August with a fine victory over Martin Kampmann, a fourth-round finish.
For Woodley, this is no doubt his biggest career opportunity. The American Top Team Fighter and former U. of Missouri wrestler is 12-2 on his career and 2-1 in the UFC, with his most recent performance being a vicious knockout of Josh Koscheck at UFC 167.
UFC 171 on March 15 in Dallas will feature Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for the welterweight title recently vacated by St-Pierre.