UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley took exception to criticism leveled against him by UFC President Dana White regarding his victory over Demian Maia at UFC 214 on Saturday.
Woodley’s comments came during the Monday edition of The MMA Hour, via ESPN.com’s Greg Rosenstein (Warning: link contains NSFW language):
“If you’re going to publicly scrutinize me—Dana White—he needs to apologize to me. I’ve done nothing but good stuff for the sport. I’ve done nothing but be a good [role] model for the organization. I fight with f–king integrity. I covered your sport from the Fox desk a week before my fight. I always uphold my responsibilities with the organization. The word behind business is ‘man.’ You need to be a man and owe me a public apology. And if I don’t get that, I’m going to start leaking some s–t that people don’t want to be out in the wind. I’m not kidding about that.”
While Woodley retained his title in a unanimous decision, White thought the champion should’ve sealed the victory much earlier.
“[Maia] had one eye in the first round and you’re [Woodley] faster, you’re stronger, your hands are better, you’re explosive,” White said, per MMA Fighting’s Danny Segura. “I believe that Woodley could’ve finished that in the first round, and if not, he definitely could’ve finished it in the second round.”
White wasn’t the only one who looked at Woodley’s performance with a critical eye. Bleacher Report’s Scott Harris listed the 35-year-old as one of his “losers” from UFC 214, arguing Woodley’s conservative approach and dominance over Maia hurt the entertainment of the bout.
According to UFC.com, Woodley landed 57 total strikes over the five rounds and Maia connected on 29 strikes.
After the fight, Woodley said a shoulder injury had prevented him from putting together a better striking display, telling reporters the shoulder “slipped out” in the first or second round, per MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee (Warning: link contains NSFW language).
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