Tyron Woodley is willing to make the adjustment just to make a fight against Georges St-Pierre happen.
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is determined to make a fight against Georges St-Pierre happen. So much so that he says he is willing to jump up to middleweight if needed.
During this weekend’s media scrum at UFC 218, Woodley was asked about the possibility of moving up in weight to cement himself as a pound-for-pound great. “The Chosen One” says St-Pierre is a bigger priority than grabbing that top pound-for-pound spot.
“To be honest, my goal is not really to be pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world,” Woodley said. “That’s Demetrious Johnson’s spot right now. When Jon Jones gets his act together, I think him and DJ would be fighting for that position for a very long time.”
“My goal is to be the best welterweight that’s ever fought in the Octagon, and I think it’s the toughest division.”
“I’m not going up to middleweight because I think that will boost me on the pound-for-pound list,” he continued. “I want to fight Georges, and he’s not fighting me at my weight, so I’ll come up and see you there.”
Woodley has fought mainly at welterweight his entire career, but he is nonetheless liking his chances at 185-pounds.
“I do think there are some guys I can compete with in the middleweight division,” Woodley said. “I move so much faster; I don’t think I’m giving up that much power in the punches.”
“Guys like Chris Weidman, Jacare, Luke Rockhold, brothers got some size on me, I’ll have to be really creative. But in reality, I think I’m a competitor and I will find a way to do what I need to do.”