It’s pretty clear now that the next title contender for the UFC welterweight title will be Demian Maia after he won his last bout at UFC 211 with a hard-fought split decision over Jorge Masvidal, which marks his seventh straight win. Although Maia has been very impressive as of late, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is just fine with fighting Maia. Woodley spoke about various topics on Monday’s edition on The MMA Hour and during the interview, he said that the UFC haven’t yet asked him about Maia but he is more than willing to fight Maia.
Now that the UFC has canceled their plans of booking current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping against former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, Woodley is interested in fighting “GSP,” who claims he won’t be ready to fight until later this year.
“Georges St-Pierre is always going to be that, no matter the money, no matter the city,” Woodley said on The MMA Hour. “If it’s in freakin’ Montreal, if it’s freakin’ for $100,000. No matter what the situation is, that’s always going to be the best fight. He was the best in the world. If he’s still talking about competing, that’s always going to hang over my head. I can’t honestly say I’m the best welterweight in the world knowing that he’s still wanting to fight, so that’s going to take precedence over everything.”
St-Pierre’s timetable for a return was the reason for the UFC canceling the bout due to UFC President Dana White not wanting to wait on him anymore. Now, Bisping will defend the title against Yoel Romero. Woodley has been publicly chasing St-Pierre ever since capturing the UFC welterweight title in July 2016. Woodley admitted that wasn’t exactly excited about the prospect of facing Maia due to his lack of drawing power and style.
“An exciting fight, something I believe could produce my first rivalry maybe, my first back-and-forth press conference, is maybe a Nick Diaz,” Woodley said. “In my opinion, he’s a lineal top-five welterweight, what he’s done for the sport, how he actually got people excited about it. He was really just himself and that became an image, and I think he can do that everyday because that’s him, so I respect him, I respect what he’s done for MMA. That’s another fight that excites me. I just don’t see beating Demian Maia really putting another notch on my belt like those two guys would. Now, granted, he’s got what, 17, 18, 19 wins in the UFC? Something ridiculous. He took Anderson Silva to a decision. He rattled off seven victories in a row. Man, how do you do that type of stuff in silence? Think about it. It’s our sport. Our sport does not allow jiu-jitsu, the building block of the UFC — it has not allowed it to be great. It’s not respected. It’s not something that everyone wants to see. That’s how he’s been able to rattle off seven victories against top opponents and not get the credit. It’s not my fault. I didn’t do it.”
Woodley has called out both St-Pierre and Diaz in the past. Neither of those bouts were booked but with GSP back in the game, could suddenly become a possibility. However, Woodley believes that St-Pierre is simply avoiding him due to unfavorable stylistic match-up.
“I’m the best welterweight in the world and I feel like Georges St-Pierre should’ve fought me,” Woodley said. “He should’ve come back (to welterweight). Fighting Bisping, I think that was the cowardly move. He’s going to fight someone who doesn’t have the ability to concuss him like I would, or Johny Hendricks would, or Robbie Lawler would. That’s why he went (up in weight). If Stephen Thompson would’ve beaten me, I guarantee that his first fight back would’ve been against Stephen Thompson, a similar karate-style fighter that he’s probably seen a million times, he’s trained with him, he doesn’t have the one-punch KO power, he’s not going to submit him, he’s not going to stop his shot. It’s the safer fight for a big payday. So with that said, I just kinda raise my eyebrows, the fact that he would go up a weight class when there’s a willing, dominant champion that wants to take you on that’s excited about the fight. It surprised me, but hey, if it’s Demian Maia first or if it’s Georges St-Pierre first, everybody’s going to get it at the end of the day and I’m just excited to be where I’m at right now.”
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