UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will defend his title against undefeated Liverpudlian Darren Till in September.
Till has won his last four fights following a draw with Nicolas Dalby in his second bout with the UFC and the 25-year-old has leapfrogged interim champion Colby Covington for a shot at Woodley’s crown.
Covington won the interim belt with an unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225, however, he recently underwent successful surgery to correct a nasal issue and should return to the Octagon by November.
As for Colby Covington, he had successful surgery today to correct a nasal issue, sources say, and will be ready to return in November. More coming on Woodley vs. Till at UFC 228 to @espn shortly.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 24, 2018
Covington has not been stripped of his belt by the UFC but will concede his interim title as soon as Woodley’s defence with Till begins, similar to how Conor McGregor was stripped of his lightweight belt at UFC 223 as soon as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Al Iaquinta commenced.
Welterweight title is on the line in Texas! @TWooodley takes on @DarrenTill2 at #UFC228 in Dallas!
🎟 7/27 pic.twitter.com/ckWCtUItVd— UFC (@ufc) July 24, 2018
The reaction to the UFC’s decision to strip Covington has not been well received with many asking why let Covington fight for an interim belt if the organisation would strip him of his title just six weeks later.
You don't have to like Colby Covington to get frustrated over an interim title being introduced 6 weeks ago only to strip him of the belt because there was no plan in place for a main event at UFC 228 in September. It's ridiculous.
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/ImpactKM/status/1021911972001054720
Woodley revealed on Tuesday that the Covington fight had never been offered to him and that he discovered that he would be fighting Darren Till through the fighter’s official Twitter account.
“I found out that Colby Covington is out of the fight on Twitter through Darren Till,” said Woodley on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show.
“He said ‘Colby’s out of the fight, I’m in’. Number one, I was never formally offered Colby Covington, not only as an opponent, but I was never offered a date.
“Somebody told me I might be coaching on the Ultimate Fighter, somebody told me it might be in September, somebody told me it might be Colby in November.
“The interim champion is ‘the champion until the king comes back’ belt, the ‘in the meantime’ belt, when did that person become the shot caller?”
“I’m getting my information from Twitter. What the f*ck is going on?” @twooodley discussed how he found out Colby Covington might be out in favor of Darren Till on yesterday’s #HelwaniShow. pic.twitter.com/OV8msQCVrt
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 24, 2018
