Colby Covington thinks the crowd will be booing Tyron Woodley in their UFC welterweight title unification bout.
Although nothing has been confirmed, it’s expected that newly-crowned UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington will take on reigning champ Tyron Woodley in a title unification bout later this year.
And, according to ‘Chaos’, who is one of the most hated fighters on the UFC roster, he expects the crowd to turn against ‘T-Wood’ when they eventually collide because Woodley is ‘too busy’ trying to kick start a career in Hollywood.
“I’m probably going to turn into a babyface (a professional wrestling term for a ‘good guy’) for my next fight because nobody likes Tyron Woodley,” Covington told the media at the UFC 225 post-fight press conference, per MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee. “That guy’s too busy gossiping about the Kardashians. He’s in Hollywood on his little TMZ stint, so I think people are going to really embrace me as making this division great again, like I am.”
While Covington is one of the least idolized fighters in the UFC, Woodley isn’t exactly the most popular fighter on the roster. The 36-year-old has been criticized for his lackluster performances against Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia, and elicited boos from the crowd despite defending his welterweight title on both occasions.
Covington, who thrashed Rafael dos Anjos to win the interim title at UFC 225, has sparred with Woodley in the past and promises to finish his former American Top Team (ATT) training partner ‘inside three rounds.’
“I’ve trained hundreds of hundreds of rounds of sparring at American Top Team,” Covington said. “I know how he fights, he’s real predictable. He has his right hand, he’s got no gas tank, he backs up and fights. People are scared of his power, I’m not scared of his power. I’ll go right into his power. I’ll get him in the clinch, I’ll do whatever I want with him. I’ll finish him inside three rounds, mark my words.”
Woodley has been on the sidelines due to injury since last year, but the NCAA Division I wrestling standout is expected to return in the coming weeks. A title unification bout with Covington will most likely take place during the fourth quarter of 2018.