Tyron Woodley last competed in March at UFC 235 in a bout against Kamaru Usman which saw Woodley defeated for his welterweight championship in the co-main event of the evening. Woodley was then booked in a rematch, but not the one he had hoped for.
Instead of being granted an opportunity to regain his welterweight championship from Kamaru Usman, Woodley was instead booked to fight the man he had won the welterweight championship from years prior, Robbie Lawler. The fight was originally planned to main event UFC Minneapolis in June. Unfortunately, Woodley pulled out of the fight due to a hand injury. Lawler will now fight Colby Covington August 3 in the headliner of UFC on ESPN 5, and Woodley can’t help but wonder about the UFC’s matchmaking logic:
“I think it’s a good fight that people will be interested in. It’s not the drama that me and Colby or me and Usman have. I’m surprised they wouldn’t just do me and Colby,” Woodley told Helen Yee of Eyes on the Game. “I don’t know how Robbie got in the picture, especially ranked 10th. I think, you know, Robbie was a good champion for a while. So I think maybe that fight was put together to try to edge him back in that title picture.”
When asked if the UFC ever offered a Colby Covington fight to him at all for August 3 or any event around this date, Woodley answered in the negative.
“They never offered,” Woodley disclosed. I never knew that was an option. They never offered a fight against Colby.
Now that Woodley remains on the sidelines for the time being, the positive is that this gives the former champion more time to prepare for his eventual return:
“I’ve been back training, getting myself ready, really just strengthening my hand, and getting cardio, and getting my timing and stuff back.”
Do you believe the UFC should have tried to make Tyron Woodley vs. Colby Covington instead of Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler?
