“He’s basically shown us he’s a (expletive), and he never really wanted to fight in the first place,”
Tyron Woodley has some choice words for Colby Covington, claiming that the controversial welterweight contender never really had any intention of challenging him for the official title and should be ‘embarrassed’ for turning down the fight.
“He’s basically shown us he’s a (expletive), and he never really wanted to fight in the first place,” Woodley said backstage at UFC 227, per MMA Junkie.
“That was for you guys. I’m willing to beat anybody. You guys, the fans, and Brazil, and all the people he disrespected, and people that knew his antics were complete frickin’ horrible scripted elementary antics, you guys wanted to see him get his ass whooped. And I was just going to do it because he was next up.”
It was expected that Covington, who beat Rafael dos Anjos to win the interim welterweight title at UFC 225, would go on to face Woodley in a title unification bout. But, according to reports, ‘Chaos’ wanted the fight pushed back to a later date due to him recently undergoing nasal surgery. The 30-year-old has faced backlash from fans and fighters alike for refusing to fight after talking trash to Woodley for the better part of a year.
‘T-Wood’, however, wasn’t too fazed by Covington’s antics and said the interim champ filled a gap in the market.
“It was quiet,” Woodley said. “Jon (Jones) was gone. Conor (McGregor) was gone. Ronda (Rousey) said peace out. What did we really have? So why am I going to shutter his dreams and remove the cape on his whole show. Hey, if it builds up a fight with me, I’ll make some money. You’re the easiest matchup in the division. Why not let it go forward?”
The UFC was unwilling to meet Covington’s demands and decided to give Darren Till the title shot instead. And as far as ‘T-Wood’ is concerned, ‘The Gorilla’ is a much more dangerous stylistic matchup.
“Now, it’s a different opponent (in Till), one that style-wise presents way more threats to me. Bigger, stronger, more powerful, hungrier, and actually means what he says. He doesn’t say much, but what he says he really means it.”
Woodley has moved past Covington and is fully focused on defending his title against Till.
“What you think I should focus on? That terrible-ass (‘Make America Great Again’) hat (Covington) had on (at the White House), or this middleweight that’s going to kill himself trying to come down and take my belt?” he said.
Woodley vs. Till will feature as the main event for UFC 228, which takes place next month, September 8 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.