If Tyron Woodley has his way, Stephen Thompson won’t be getting anywhere near his title for a very long time.
Wonderboy maybe the number-one contender at 170 lb, but he’s not next in line for a title shot, according to the newly-crowned champion.
After knocking out Robbie Lawler inside one round in UFC 201’s main event, “The Chosen One” called out Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre as two fighters he’s like to defend his belt against next, much to the chagrin of Wonderboy.
Stephen Thompson practically begs Tyron Woodley to give him a title shot https://t.co/yJKGiNqnaj
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 2, 2016
Woodley explained on the “Morning Wood with Deez Nuts” podcast that the GSP fight could be in the works. He revealed on the show that he spoke to “Rush” himself who told him he was interested in the scrap.
“I’ve had a conversation with Georges St-Pierre. He’s interested in the bout. We will make the bout happen, I don’t care if I have to sit out a little bit.”
The undisputed welterweight king then went on to break down exactly why he is being so selective with his match-ups now that he holds the belt.
“This is the whole thing that people need to realise that my career, especially this latter portion of it. If Conor beats Nate, he might fight Robbie (Lawler), he might let Stevie Wonderboy fight Robbie. Hey, if freakin’ Spiderman comes off the roof and swings by web, he might fight Robbie.”
“Given the situation, basically, I was the last choice and it was all dictated on another individual. Another man’s victory or defeat decided if I was going to get the title shot. If this person was injured, if Georges St-Pierre came out of retirement.”
Georges St-Pierre issues one-word response to Tyron Woodley https://t.co/zHfkCDg1Zd
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 1, 2016
Although Woodley hadn’t fought for a year and a half before getting his shot at UFC 201, he believes that he earned his chance by being a consummate professional throughout his entire career.
“It was never ‘Hey, Tyron. You’re the number one choice because you’re an old G, you’ve been in the game, you’ve been a professional, you’ve made weight, you’ve returned money back to guys when they missed weight and they were penalised by the commission. You’ve always showed up,’ you know what I mean?”
“Now, it’s my turn. You fight me if I want to fight you, and if you don’t, you need to be quiet. I am the champ, not you. It’s a changing of the guard and I don’t have no issue with it. “
Wonderboy is currently riding a seven-fight win streak in the UFC and has collected some huge scalps along the way. However, Woodley believes his record is a little bit deceptive, hinting that he may have caught some of his marquee opponents when they were on the decline.
“Rory MacDonald is a phenomenal opponent, but we all saw him blocking his nose within the opening ten seconds of the fight. He’ll never be the same after that fight with Robbie. Great fight to watch, historical moment for the welterweight division, but he will never be the same again.”
“Johny Hendricks that fought Kelvin Gastelum, Johny Hendricks that fought Wonderboy Thompson is not the same Johny Hendricks that fought Kampmann, Jon Fitch, Georges St-Pierre. We saw a deflated Johny Hendricks who was overly, overly cautious on making weight and that was really his victory. Him making weight was his goal and that last time he didn’t even make it.”
“I’m not trying to diminish his record or anything, but if you want to take a shot at me, you didn’t beat these guys when they were fine. Yeah you did beat these guys and you are the number-one contender, but not in the entertainment aspect.”
It looks like Woodley has his sights set on GSP then, even if he has to wait a little while to face the Canadian superstar.
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