Tag: Demian Maia

Tyron Woodley Compares Robbie Lawler To ‘Hiding’ Ronda Rousey

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been in several MMA headlines as of late, although it hasn’t exactly been for all the right reasons. The polarizing titleholder was raked over the coals by UFC President Dana White in the moments after his uneventful decision win over Demian Maia in the co-main event of last Saturday’s […]

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UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been in several MMA headlines as of late, although it hasn’t exactly been for all the right reasons.

The polarizing titleholder was raked over the coals by UFC President Dana White in the moments after his uneventful decision win over Demian Maia in the co-main event of last Saturday’s UFC 214, after which White rescinded his prior offer of facing all-time great former champ Georges St-Pierre in his return.

That lead to Woodley demanding a public apology from his boss, or else he would release some dirt White ‘didn’t want out in the wind.’ Soon, UFC welterweight Colby Covington was throwing his name into the fire by stating he had ‘dirt that would ruin Woodley’s life,’ an obvious attempt to get his name out on social media and parlay it into a big fight in the octagon.

But White soon revealed that he and Woodley had spoken and were cool, as “The Chosen One” said he was ‘just pissed and didn’t mean it.’ So with that beef supposedly passed, Woodley can now move on to his next title defense, of which he’s had three since winning the title over Robbie Lawler in 2016. There’s just one problem, however, and that’s the fact that Woodley tore his labrum while facing Maia, an injury that he claims led to his performance leaving much to be desired.

He’s going to get a second and third opinion on the injury and hopefully avoid surgery, but the champ told Ariel Helwani on this week’s episode of The MMA Hour that if anyone even mentioned the prospect of an interim title – an all-too-often witnessed situation in today’s UFC – he was going to lose it:

“I’m going to get a second or third opinion on this shoulder, see what I need to do to get back as fast as I can. And if anybody says, utters, mumbles, accidentally says the word ‘interim,’ I’m going to lose my sh*t. Because I fought four world title fights in 12 months, and I was prepared to fight five in 18 months coming out in November. So, I dare somebody to say anything about a goddang interim title. I will lose my top, because I’ve seen athletes injured for years, months, never defended — how many belts has Conor McGregor defended?

“How long has (Michael) Bisping played his freaking [knee] is hurt? Like, be for real. How many months has Carlos Condit been out? Since January of the year before? Why is he still in the rankings? When I beat him, he was in the rankings for 14 months in the top-five with no activity. Let me take three days off — people will be quick to shoot me to the injured reserve list. Let’s keep everything consistent, people. Let’s keep everything equal, let’s keep everything the same. Don’t mention an interim title. I am so going to flip a screw.”

Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports

“The Chosen One” is hoping to heal up from the shoulder ailment with only rehab, and when he does, he believes his next rightful contender is unclear. Although No. 3-ranked Lawler got back into the win column with a hard-fought decision win over ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 214 in his first fight back since getting knocked out by Woodley, the champ doesn’t believe that qualifies him for a title shot just yet.

And although he claims that he and “Ruthless” are friends from their mutual association with American Top Team (ATT), Woodley blasted his supposed buddy by saying that Lawler doesn’t deserve a title shot after taking a year off and going into hiding like former women’s champion Ronda Rousey did:

“Why do I fight Lawler? What has he done in this last year besides crawl up in a ball and hide?” Woodley asked. “That’s what Ronda Rousey did. He didn’t do that when he knocked out everybody else. I didn’t do that when I got knocked out. I came back, I shook myself else off, I got myself back up.

“I just don’t feel like someone that’s taken a year off, as much as I know Dana loves Robbie and the fans love Robbie — I love Robbie, Robbie’s a dope fighter, we were friends before that fight, I feel bad that we haven’t really communicated that much since then — but I just don’t feel as if a fighter who I knocked out in 46 seconds takes a year off, (then) comes back and wins a fight kinda close, and jumps right back into the title picture. So, there’s no clear contenders right now.”

While the prospect of another Lawler fight may not be an exciting one for the now-healing champ, there could be a few things wrong with this sort of logic. One, Lawler is an action fighter who, while certainly prone to short bouts of inactivity while saving energy for his patented late-round surges, pushes the action and is greatly respected by the fans for it. That could be just the test Woodley needs to get out of his recent funk of playing it absolutely too safe and becoming one of the most hated fighters in the UFC, even if he has beaten the Combat Club member once before.

Two, Woodley has repeatedly asked for a big-money fight with St-Pierre, who has been out of action since November 2013, or long-gone welterweight Nick Diaz, a popular and polarizing personality who has nevertheless not won a fight since October 2011. Blasting ‘Ruthless’ by comparing his situation to Rousey’s well-documented exile while crying out for fights with past big names with years of combined inactivity seems a bit hypocritical, but hey, anything to get that big payday in today’s star-driven UFC world.

At this point, it’s safe to ask if Woodley should just go full heel and get fans to tune in to hopefully see him lose a la Floyd Mayweather, because he isn’t ever going to win over the fans with his constant whining and entitlement coupled with his barely watchable fights as of late.

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Colby Covington Reacts To Tweet Promising ‘Dirt That Would Ruin Tyron Woodley’s Life’

Last night, No. 8-ranked welterweight Colby Covington released a tweet offering ‘dirt that would ruin Tyron Woodley’s’ life’ in response to “The Chosen One” demanding a public apology from Dana White for his public trashing of his UFC 214 win over Demian Maia, without which Woodley promised he would release the UFC president’s own dirty […]

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Last night, No. 8-ranked welterweight Colby Covington released a tweet offering ‘dirt that would ruin Tyron Woodley’s’ life’ in response to “The Chosen One” demanding a public apology from Dana White for his public trashing of his UFC 214 win over Demian Maia, without which Woodley promised he would release the UFC president’s own dirty laundry.

The tweet came about as a strange voicing of support for the polarizing UFC executive, who seems to have largely fallen out of favor with UFC fighters from Jon Jones on down the roster for a variety of reasons ranging from his head-scratching public humiliations to the more impactful topic of fighter pay and treatment in the promotion.

However, the rising Covington took a different route than we’ve seen from many fighters lately and chose to side with his employer in a dramatic crusade against Woodley. Check out his controversial social media post:

Covington’s somewhat surprising tweet was not surprisingly blasted by at least one UFC athlete, as lightweight Kajan Johnson clapped back that any fighter who chose the company over his own fellow fighter in a situation like this was the lowest form of combatant:

It’s far from shocking to see a tweet exactly like this during an uncertain period where many fighters cannot even afford to make it through a top-level camp in order to fight in the UFC based upon their low wages and sponsorship money from the UFC’s apparel deal with Reebok.

But Covington apparently doesn’t care about all the fighters who are struggling to simply make it to the octagon.

The rising 170-pound force was contacted by MMAJunkie for a response to the Woodley tweet and the backlash that came with it, and his answer was merely that of a man who is trying to get paid:

“What I would say is, where’s the money?. It’s all about the money in this game. I’m trying to get the No. 1 spot and make a financially better future for me and my family. (Expletive) everybody else.”

Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports

‘F—‘ everyone else, indeed, but it’s this kind of attitude that has left a large percentage of the UFC fighter base to stay unable to organize and negotiate for better wages, treatment, and working conditions for themselves, as they consistently maintain a narrowly and inwardly focused mindset that rarely allows them to fight for what they should be getting collectively, rather than just themselves and to a lesser extent, their team.

Anyway, back to Covington’s harsh threat towards the champ Woodley, which he said was “half a troll” and half serious. Overall, Covington said it was just what it obviously appeared to be – a chance to get his name out there and in the mix in an increasingly social media and trash talk-driven MMA world:

“It’s a career move, if you want to call it that,” Covington said. “I’m looking for big fights, and I’ve got to promote and market myself any way I can. If people hate me and want to see me get knocked the (expletive) out, then sign someone the (expletive) up. I guarantee there’s not a man in the world that can knock me out now. It’s just a reminder that I am the No. 1 best fighter in the world right now.”

A bold claim to be certain, but not one we haven’t seen from Covington in one way or another before, as he previously claimed that he ‘tore Woodley in half’ when the two trained at American Top Team (ATT) in the past. Woodley owns an ATT affiliate in his native Missouri, but the fact that he’s not in Coconut Creek full-time has lead Covington to believe Woodley isn’t a true teammate. “Chaos” then took the talk a step up and called him a “fake champion:

“He was here in the beginning, and he has an ATT gym – but at the end of the day, he has what I want. He’s trying to ruin this sport. He needs to know that I’m here, and I want what he has.”

“When I first met Tyron, he acted real fake to me. I just think he’s a shady person. His character is not good. So I’m not afraid to attack his character, because he’s not everything he says he is. He’s a fake champion.”

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

After sustaining an injury and putting on his second straight snoozer in the octagon, Woodley has been called just that, in one form or another, quite a bit in the last two days following his tepid win over Maia. Covington made note of that and went several steps above White’s public bashing of the fight by pointing out, like many have, that Woodley is currently playing it safe and has little gas tank to expend over a full five-round fight:

“I thought it was pathetic,” Covington said. “I’ve got some better footage of him in the gym throwing a strike. It was bad. He fights conservative. He’s not a real fighter. He doesn’t want to get into a tough fight. He’s got no gas in the tank, which is why I think it’s a good stylistic matchup for me. He explodes for one or two punches, but that’s about it. He plays it safe.”

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UFC Contender Claims To Have ‘Dirt That Would Ruin Tyron Woodley’s Life’

It looks like the dirt-slinging contest between UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and his boss Dana White has a new player – or something. Yesterday, Woodley went off on White to demand a public apology after the UFC head man blasted his UFC 214 win over Demian Maia, a bout during which he tore his labrum. […]

The post UFC Contender Claims To Have ‘Dirt That Would Ruin Tyron Woodley’s Life’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It looks like the dirt-slinging contest between UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and his boss Dana White has a new player – or something.

Yesterday, Woodley went off on White to demand a public apology after the UFC head man blasted his UFC 214 win over Demian Maia, a bout during which he tore his labrum. Woodley believed that White should promote his fighters rather than demote them, so if he did not receive the apology he desired, he threatened to go public with some ‘dirt’ on the polarizing exec.

Apparently, however, Woodley has some of his own skeletons in his closet; at least if we’re to believe rising welterweight contender Colby Covington, who tweeted out a message to White telling him not to worry because he had a secret bad enough to ‘ruin Woodley’s life’:

Quietly on a four-fight winning streak with the most recent a decision over longtime contender Dong Hyun Kim at June’s UFC Fight Night 111, No. 8 Covington has been working overtime to get his name out there and get a big fight in the Octagon.

That includes repeatedly dragging Woodley’s name through the mud with statements that he ‘broke him in half’ when the two trained at American Top Team (ATT) and calling out former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in a strange video posted online. Based on his recent effort to make a name for himself, it’s no surprise to see him pop up to take advantage of this situation.

Of course, Woodley is the fight everyone wants in the welterweight division, but Covington clearly has a lot of work to do in order to get a title fight in the deep 170-pound fray. Social media outbursts like this may help him jump the line, yet it’s hard to imagine “The Chosen One” signing on the dotted line to face ‘Chaos’ if he ‘ruined his life’ with the supposed dirt.

Stay tuned for the next turn in this strange tale.

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Tyron Woodley Goes Off On Dana White In Threatening Rant

Dana White made it incredibly clear that he wasn’t a fan of Tyron Woodley’s recent performances when he ripped into the UFC welterweight champion in the moments directly after his safe, boo-inducing win over Demian Maia in the co-main event of last Saturday’s (July 29, 2017) UFC 214 from Anaheim, Calif. And not only did he […]

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Dana White made it incredibly clear that he wasn’t a fan of Tyron Woodley’s recent performances when he ripped into the UFC welterweight champion in the moments directly after his safe, boo-inducing win over Demian Maia in the co-main event of last Saturday’s (July 29, 2017) UFC 214 from Anaheim, Calif.

And not only did he publicly call out his champion, but he was so mad he even took the promised Georges St-Pierre fight from “The Chosen One” and gave it “back” to Michael Bisping.

Coupled with his lackluster win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the main event of March’s UFC 209, Woodley was beginning to have a reputation as a once-feared knockout artist who now played it safe in order to keep his belt. Sharing the fans’ opinion of the 170-pound ruler, White even proclaimed fans didn’t want to see him fight anymore:

“You ask fans if they want to see Woodley fight again, I think that will be a flat out no.”

But Woodley was quick to respond during an appearance on The MMA Hour today, asking White for some fair promotion before revealing that he had seriously injured his shoulder and how it affected his shots:

“I don’t care so much about the fans, but when your job title is promoter, promote your f*cking fighters. Promote your champion. Don’t demote your champion. I threw my shoulder out in the first round, I wasn’t able to throw any damaging shots — for you guys who don’t understand what a labrum tear is, go get on Google or Wikipedia and figure it out — and I still stayed the course, I stayed on path, I stayed on point, I executed the gameplan. I had to reduce all of my shots from overhands, uppercuts, things that were hurting my shoulder, to straight punches.”

Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports

A torn labrum is no injury to scoff at, especially for a power puncher known for his big, looping shots. Woodley will be out for a significant amount of time after defeating Maia, and in that absence he wants White to make it right. So he took things to an all-new level from there, threatening to out White for some skeletons in his closet if he did not get the public apology he so desired:

“So, sorry in advance, I’m mad because I’ve had this surgery before. It’s not a fun one. It’s not a quick recovery. It’s not something that I’m excited about. I’m going to get a couple second opinions. Literally I’m in the Uber right now, I just f*cking got out of the doctors office, like right this second. There’s paperwork in my hand. So I’m just, I’m owed a public apology. You’re going to publicly scrutinize me, Dana White? You publicly need to apologize to me.

“I’ve done nothing but good stuff for the sport. I’ve done nothing but be a good model for the f*cking organization. I go out there and I fight with integrity. I covered your sport from the FOX desk a week before my fight. I always uphold my responsibilities to the organization. It’s timeout for that. The word behind ‘business’ is ‘man.’ You need to be a man, you owe me a public apology. And if I don’t get that, I’m going to start leaking some sh*t that people don’t want to be out in the wind. I’m not even kidding about that.”

While many a fighter has certainly expressed public disdain with White in the past, no one has quite gone so far as to demand their own apology from him, and they certainly haven’t done so with the threat of outing some sort of secret leaks that Woodley has hidden in his back pocket.

Asked to expand on just what the dirt was, Woodley said his target knew what he was talking about:

“They know what I’m referring to. I’m due a public apology,” he said. “I better get it.”

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Tyron Woodley: Georges St-Pierre Should Have To Fight Me

He may have put on arguably the two most boring title fights in UFC welterweight title history with a record-setting snoozer over Demian Maia in the UFC 214 and a painfully slow defense against Stephen Thompson at UFC 209, but Tyron Woodley still believes his body of work has earned him a lofty position in […]

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He may have put on arguably the two most boring title fights in UFC welterweight title history with a record-setting snoozer over Demian Maia in the UFC 214 and a painfully slow defense against Stephen Thompson at UFC 209, but Tyron Woodley still believes his body of work has earned him a lofty position in MMA history.

Woodley was thoroughly blasted by his boss Dana White after he successfully defended all 21 of Maia’s takedown attempts in a bout that set the record for least significant strikes in a title bout, so much so that the emotional exec actually took Woodley’s promised title bout with returning all-time great Georges St-Pierre off the table, giving the fight to Michael Bisping.

“The Chosen One” understandably wasn’t happy about it, and spoke out against White’s decision at the UFC post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting) by declaring St-Pierre should actually have to fight him to be considered the best welterweight ever:

“[St-Pierre] should have to fight me. If you are the best welterweight of all time, you’re gonna come back into the sport and go up a weight class? I guarantee you if Demian Maia would have won, he would have been talking about fighting Demian Maia. I guarantee if Stephen Thompson would have won, he’d have been looking to fight Stephen Thompson. He doesn’t want to fight me because I’m a better version of him.”

Gary A. Vasquez for USA TODAY Sports

St-Pierre will move up a weight class to middleweight to fight champion Bisping, who has caused a sea of controversy since winning the belt by only defending it against a retiring Dan Henderson before going to the sidelines with knee surgery as the many top contenders in the division were methodically eliminated by Robert Whittaker, who conveniently hurt his own knee beating Yoel Romero. That’s made the 185-pound division a mess, and Woodley took note of it before correctly pointing out he was the only champion consistently defending the title against top contenders:

“When was the last time Michael Bisping fought? Think about it. I fought four world title fights against actual No. 1 contenders. Has he ever fought a No. 1 contender? I fought the No. 1 contender twice. I fought the No. 1 contender after that. And I fought the world champion who was Robbie Lawler at the time before that. I’m the only one that’s going by the old set of rules. So if it’s not Georges St-Pierre, let him run. But guess what? Whoever you put in front of me, I’m gonna run through them, I’m gonna beat them, and if he does not fight me, by default I will be the best welterweight of all-time.”

Woodley Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports

Woodley may have a strong argument from some certain points of view, yet it’s difficult to say he would become the greatest fighter of all-time in a storied division, especially over a time-honored legend like St-Pierre, without actually fighting him if he’s indeed active. However, it’s just not a fight that is going to be made until Woodley proves he can deliver exciting bouts each and every time out to the cage, not every third or fourth time.

That’s the only way he’s going to gain a reputation as a draw, and that, in turn, is the only way he might eventually get to fight St-Pierre.

But one thing Woodley is correct about is the mess the middleweight division has become. The welterweight champ went off about Bisping’s injury and why it was strange to have St-Pierre jump the entire ranks in a class he had never once competed in before:

“The clarity should just be Georges. I don’t understand, you have an interim title right? Robert Whittaker just beat Yoel Romero. . . He deserves to fight Bisping next. How long is Bisping going to milk this knee injury? Is his knee severed or what the hell is going on? He should be fighting the No. 1 contenders like I’ve had to do.”

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Tyron Woodley on Maia Fight: ‘I Was Stronger As I Said I Would be’

Tyron Woodley believes his game plan worked to a tee against Demian Maia. Last night (July 29), Woodley defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title against Maia. “The Chosen One” didn’t allow the challenger to score a single takedown on 24 attempts. That was the key to his unanimous decision victory. The champion explained […]

Tyron Woodley believes his game plan worked to a tee against Demian Maia. Last night (July 29), Woodley defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title against Maia. “The Chosen One” didn’t allow the challenger to score a single takedown on 24 attempts. That was the key to his unanimous decision victory. The champion explained […]