Sounds like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, is back in the doghouse.
Probably because promotion president, Dana White, has been trying to book a championship main event for the UFC 233 pay-per-view (PPV), scheduled for Jan. 26, 2019 inside Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The first choice was to have Woodley defend his 170-pound title against division No. 1 contender Colby Covington, but it appears “The Chosen One” is playing hard to get. That’s according to comments White made to TSN Sports.
“Tell me when Woodley does want to fight,” White said. “This is always an issue with Woodley. We’re going to move on. That division is stacked. We’ve got a lot of good talent and whether Woodley fights or doesn’t, we’ll end up making a fight with some of the best guys in that division.”
White also told host Aaron Brewster that he’s not ruling out another interim title.
The substitute strap was already in place when Woodley took time off to repair a bum shoulder, but Covington wasted his chance to unify the titles and coughed up his title shot to Darren Till last September.
“You either want to be a world champion or you don’t,” White said about Covington. “If you get the opportunity in this business, you need to take it immediately. He had the opportunity to fight Woodley, he should have took it, he didn’t. We’ll see if he steps up and takes another opportunity.”
One fighter who is ready, willing, and able to fight for the welterweight title — interim or otherwise — is surging 170-pound contender, Kamaru Usman. “The Nigerian Nightmare” recently manhandled Rafael dos Anjos and now has his sights set on the champion.
Or Covington, should Woodley prove unavailable.
Still lots of pieces to this puzzle, but judging by the history between White and Woodley, we may not have a resolution until somebody starts “leaking shit.”