UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley recently called out Matt “The Immortal” Brown, but it appears the UFC has different plans for T-Wood.
Speaking with UFC.com, UFC President Dana White revealed that sixth-ranked welterweight Hector Lombard has already verbally agreed to fight Woodley, and the promotion is actively working to set up that fight.
White said Woodley vs. Brown—the fight Woodley personally called for—does not interest him, but Lombard vs. Woodley does.
‘But we want to do Tyron Woodley vs. Hector Lombard – that’s the fight we want to do,’ White said. ‘Hector said yes, we’re just waiting to hear from Woodley. Lombard said he would fight him, no problem.’
Should this fight goes through, that leaves Brown without an opponent, which, for once, is just fine. The Immortal responded to Woodley‘s call out already, and he didn’t sound like he was feeling the matchup anyway.
Instead, he wants Carlos Condit—a matchup he was scheduled for in December 2013 at UFC on Fox 9 before suffering a back injury that forced the UFC to cancel the bout. Looking to the future, Brown wants the UFC brass to re-book that matchup once both men are ready to roll.
Condit, for his part, is rehabbing a knee injury suffered against Woodley at UFC 171, while Brown is nursing his right hand, which he shattered in a decision loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC on Fox 12.
With Brown’s interest tied up in Condit, Woodley vs. Lombard seems the next logical step to take, and the UFC is apparently working to make it a reality as soon as possible. Lombard is getting antsy, after all.
Should it materialize, Lombard will stroll into the cage on a two-fight winning streak over Nate Marquardt and Jake Shields, while Woodley is fresh off a first-round knockout of Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le.
Both men are sensational grapplers with devastating knockout power, so, provided they can stuff each others’ takedowns, this fight would provide an explosive, can’t-blink matchup sure to please MMA fans across the globe.
What do you think of the matchup? Do you prefer Woodley vs. Brown or do you think Lombard is the right opponent for T-Wood to face next?
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