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“It was a blessing to have him there, and I definitely have to thank him for coming through.”
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says it was a blessing to be able to train with Jorge Masvidal ahead of UFC Vegas 11, assuring the media that their partnership wasn’t a publicity stunt.
Masvidal, of course, is Colby Covington’s biggest rival, and ‘T-Wood’ says the UFC BMF titleholder jumped at the opportunity to train with him when the Covington matchup was first reported last month.
“I don’t play games like that,” Woodley told MMA Junkie when asked if he invited Masvidal to his training camp to cause further drama with Covington. “I’m a G. I’ve been in this game for a long time. “It was that easy. It wasn’t like, ‘Ah, let’s freak him out,’ or rattle his cage, mental warfare. It was to train, and we trained our asses off.”
“It was a blessing for him to do it,” he added. “He didn’t even ask. He just said, ‘I’ll be there Monday,’ and we were in there.
“People see him as ‘three-piece and a soda’ and all that sh-t, but Masvidal is a gym rat. He’s in the gym, he’s in the gym, he’s in the gym. That’s why he was able to take a six-day notice fight against Kamaru Usman. It was a blessing to have him there, and I definitely have to thank him for coming through.”
Woodley is coming into UFC Vegas 11 on a two-fight losing skid and will look to make a serious statement against Covington, promising that there will be no handshake after he beats ‘Chaos’ to a pulp in the UFC Fight Night 178 main event.
“I’m definitely going to punch Colby in the face. Punch him, kick him, knee him, elbow him, knock him out, submit him, wake him up, knock him out again. Then sweep him off the mat with no handshake. Definitely going to punch Colby Covington and I hate to even (say) his name because he doesn’t even deserve to be on our show. But, he’s getting a punch in the face.”
UFC Vegas 11: Woodley vs. Covington kicks off this Saturday, Sept. 19 at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.