UFC champ Tyron Woodley needs ‘seven figures’ to fight Demian Maia in Brazil

After edging out Jorge Masvidal at last weekend’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Dallas, Texas (see it here), Demian Maia was promised the next Welterweight title shot against division champion Tyron Woodley.

Unfortunately, no one spoke with “The Chosen One,” who says before any title fights get awarded, they need to run it by him, first.

“Someone needs to talk to me first. I haven’t talked with anyone, you have to talk to the champion, first,” said Tyron on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “You can issue whatever challenge you want to issue out, but you have to talk to me.”

“I’m not against fighting Demian Maia. I think out of all the guys in the top 10, that are really threatening guys, whether they are knockout (artists) submission (specialists) or just their ability to be tough, I match up the best with him. I’ve fought that style so many times, trained against it. My last five fights have been against southpaws. I’ve seen it so many times,” he added.

Still, Woodley admits a fight against Maia — or Masvidal, for that matter — doesn’t exactly get his blood going, though he was approached by the promotion about facing the winner beforehand.

“It didn’t interest me, it didn’t make my adrenaline pump. To be honest, neither one of those guys interested me because they are trying to build their brand, I’m trying to build my brand up and I feel my brand is further than theirs is.”

Furthermore, Woodley says Maia’s grinding style isn’t the most exciting one, which means Woodley won’t be able to put on the type of fight he’d like to give fans. And since his last outing against Thompson wasn’t exactly a barn burner, “The Chosen One” knows he’ll have to deal with more backlash from another potential lackluster outing.

When pressed on which fight does get his blood pumping, Woodley once again reverted back to his top two options, Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, two men Tyron says will help him get over the hump as the greatest welterweight in the game.

To hear Woodley tell it, though, “everyone is going to get it at the end of the day,” regardless of order.

And if the promotion needs to replace the Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw title fight — which was set to go down on July 8, 2017 at UFC 214 — due to this, Woodley is open to stepping in against Maia, a long as he compensated for fighting someone who doesn’t need to get the needle moving.

But, if the promotion prefers to get the most bang out of Maia’s buck by having the title fight go down in Brazil, they better be prepared to write him a fat check just to show up.

“You want me to fight this guy, tell me where’s he’s marketable at, Brazil? If you offer me a fight against Demian Maia in Brazil, do not come to me for less than seven figures to show,” proclaimed Tyron.

“I am not traveling to another country, different time zone, whatever, to fight him in his own element. I’m the champion. Outside of that, International Fight Week is a good week. The fight with Jon Jones and ‘DC’ is a good week, too.”

Your move, UFC.

After edging out Jorge Masvidal at last weekend’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Dallas, Texas (see it here), Demian Maia was promised the next Welterweight title shot against division champion Tyron Woodley.

Unfortunately, no one spoke with “The Chosen One,” who says before any title fights get awarded, they need to run it by him, first.

“Someone needs to talk to me first. I haven’t talked with anyone, you have to talk to the champion, first,” said Tyron on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “You can issue whatever challenge you want to issue out, but you have to talk to me.”

“I’m not against fighting Demian Maia. I think out of all the guys in the top 10, that are really threatening guys, whether they are knockout (artists) submission (specialists) or just their ability to be tough, I match up the best with him. I’ve fought that style so many times, trained against it. My last five fights have been against southpaws. I’ve seen it so many times,” he added.

Still, Woodley admits a fight against Maia — or Masvidal, for that matter — doesn’t exactly get his blood going, though he was approached by the promotion about facing the winner beforehand.

“It didn’t interest me, it didn’t make my adrenaline pump. To be honest, neither one of those guys interested me because they are trying to build their brand, I’m trying to build my brand up and I feel my brand is further than theirs is.”

Furthermore, Woodley says Maia’s grinding style isn’t the most exciting one, which means Woodley won’t be able to put on the type of fight he’d like to give fans. And since his last outing against Thompson wasn’t exactly a barn burner, “The Chosen One” knows he’ll have to deal with more backlash from another potential lackluster outing.

When pressed on which fight does get his blood pumping, Woodley once again reverted back to his top two options, Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, two men Tyron says will help him get over the hump as the greatest welterweight in the game.

To hear Woodley tell it, though, “everyone is going to get it at the end of the day,” regardless of order.

And if the promotion needs to replace the Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw title fight — which was set to go down on July 8, 2017 at UFC 214 — due to this, Woodley is open to stepping in against Maia, a long as he compensated for fighting someone who doesn’t need to get the needle moving.

But, if the promotion prefers to get the most bang out of Maia’s buck by having the title fight go down in Brazil, they better be prepared to write him a fat check just to show up.

“You want me to fight this guy, tell me where’s he’s marketable at, Brazil? If you offer me a fight against Demian Maia in Brazil, do not come to me for less than seven figures to show,” proclaimed Tyron.

“I am not traveling to another country, different time zone, whatever, to fight him in his own element. I’m the champion. Outside of that, International Fight Week is a good week. The fight with Jon Jones and ‘DC’ is a good week, too.”

Your move, UFC.