After Tyron Woodley got outclassed by Kamaru Usman at UFC 235, losing his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight title in the process (highlights), “The Chosen One” didn’t waste any time in campaigning for an immediate rematch.
Those requests fell on deaf ears, though, as UFC president Dana White revealed that Colby Covington would be getting the first crack at “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” shiny new belt. As a result, Woodley accepted a rematch against Robbie Lawler, the man he knocked out to win the 170-pound strap at UFC 201 back in 2016.
According to Tyron, another win over “Ruthless” should be all he needs to get back to the big dance.
“I don’t feel like I should have had to have a path [back to the belt],” Woodley said during a recent open workout (via ESPN). “I feel like I should have been able to fight [for a title shot].”
For Woodley, his body of work should have been more than enough to warrant an instant rematch, despite the fact that the bout against Usman wasn’t that close on the judges scorecards.
”The fact that I defended my belt [five times] against true No. 1 contenders — I’m not crying over spilled milk. I know my path is going to be different. But I’m not going to fight two or three fights. I’m going to fight Robbie, and then I’m fighting for the title.”
Indeed, UFC hasn’t been too consistent with handing immediate rematches to former champions, as Stipe Miocic will have to wait nearly a year before he gets another crack at Daniel Cormier. But he only got the fight due to Brock Lesnar retiring.
Meanwhile, Joanna Jedrzejczyk did get an immediate chance to win her Strawweight title back after Rose Namajunas knocked her out in the very first round.
Nevertheless, Woodley is confident he’ll get the job done once again when he faces Lawler at the upcoming UFC on ESPN 3 event on June 29, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Whether or not the promotion complies with his request of a title fight, is another story.