Leon Edwards: Tyron Woodley is ‘avoiding me at all costs’

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“He knows he’s going to get his ass whooped and he doesn’t want to fight me.” After UFC London was cancelled due to coronavirus, Tyron Woodley immediately called out welterweight r…

UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos v Edwards

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“He knows he’s going to get his ass whooped and he doesn’t want to fight me.”

After UFC London was cancelled due to coronavirus, Tyron Woodley immediately called out welterweight rival Colby Covington, who offered to step in for Leon Edwards and fight ‘T-Wood’ on short notice.

This, Edwards believes, is proof that Woodley never wanted to fight him in the first place. Speaking to MMA Fighting on Wednesday, ‘Rocky’ said Woodley doesn’t want the UFC London bout to be rescheduled because he knows ‘he’d get his ass whooped’.

“He knows the fight to happen is me and him,” Edwards said. “Now he’s calling out Colby Covington. He’s trying to do this, trying to do that. He doesn’t want to fight me. I knew from when I beat [Rafael dos Anjos] and he was there watching it that he didn’t want to fight me.

“Now everyone can see what I’m talking about. He doesn’t want to fight me. He knows he’s going to get his ass whooped and he doesn’t want to fight me. He’s avoiding me at all costs. He’s calling out Colby when the fight got cancelled because of a world epidemic a couple of hours ago. He doesn’t want to fight me. I know it. But we need to get it rebooked. We need to get it done.”

After seeing Woodley’s reaction to the UFC London cancellation, Edwards now understands why so many fans dislike the former welterweight champ.

“Now you can see why people don’t really like him,” Edwards said of Woodley. “He moans a lot. He’s just a weird, weird guy. Me and him wouldn’t be friends outside of fighting. We’re two different human beings. Two different personalities. But you can tell why people don’t like him.

“He’s getting older as well. He’s 37 or 38. His leverage is disappearing. He’s coming off a bad loss. His last five fights weren’t the best. For him to try and dictate what he wants next ‘I’m only fighting Colby next,’ it doesn’t warrant the position that he’s in.”

Edwards is currently ranked #4 in the UFC welterweight rankings and will not settle for anything less than a number one contenders bout with Woodley.

“For me, there’s no other option,” Edwards said. “I’m way overdue for a title shot let alone fighting Woodley. I’m only fighting Woodley as a favor just to get to beat a former world champion again. Add his scalp to this and get the world title.”

“Stop being a b*tch and let’s get the fight done. It was already booked. It got postponed because of what was happening in the world. It was out of my control, out of his control and out of the UFC’s control.

“Now let’s give the fans the fight they want to see. The fight’s been booked. Let’s get it done.”

Expect Woodley to issue a fiery response to Edwards in the next couple of days.