Take what Tyron Woodley says about Nate Diaz with a grain of salt.
Not for the first time, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is trying to force a ‘money fight’ that the fans aren’t exactly clamouring to see.
He tried it with Michael Bisping and now he’s trying to get some hype surrounding his rumoured fight with Nate Diaz that’s being targeted for UFC 219 on December 30. It’s hard to blame him considering he was handed two respectful and elite specialists in Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia for his first two defences.
After his back-to-back classics against Conor McGregor, Diaz is one of the few stars the UFC have left as viable options for the headliner. His return would certainly bring a lot of eyes to the event, which would result in some lucrative PPV points for ‘The Chosen One.’
Remarkable https://t.co/KbP5wlhScD
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 18, 2017
During the UFC Sydney weigh-in show on FOX Sports 2, Woodley claimed that he had signed his bout agreement to fight Diaz in Vegas. He also suggested that the Stockton native was ‘too scared’ to put pen to paper himself.
“I’m here. All I need is the paperwork sent – UFC 219, December 30 needs a headliner. It’s been offered to me, it’s been offered to Nate Diaz. Unfortunately, one half has not accepted. So you guys, people listening and watching, you guys need to get the Twitter fingers and ask your man that said ‘Don’t be scared,’ why is he scared?
Diaz fought and beat the UFC’s biggest ever superstar on short notice. He’s not the type to run from fights. In an interview with Andre Ward earlier this year, he explained how he tackles the business side of the sport.
“I just think about, I’m not turning down any fight ever. They might be turning down the deal. So it’s on them. It’s not in my hands because I’ll fight when you pay.”
Odds are, Diaz is just waiting for the UFC to offer him the right figure to fight Woodley. Whether or not he’s worth the figure he has in his head is another debate, but the idea that Diaz would be scared to take any fight is laughable.
