- Welterweight contender Woodley confirms he will be on relocated UFC Fight Night 171 card despite main event pull-out
- Woodley says Covington is ‘number one choice’ and claims other fighters like McGregor and Usman are staying away
Former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has responded to Colby Covington's offer to step in at short notice to save UFC Fight Night 171's headline event.
Woodley (19-4-1) was booked to fight Briton Leon Edwards (18-3) in London on March 22. UFC president Dana White has since said the event will be held at an as yet undetermined location due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while Edwards pulled out having been unable to reach an agreement on relocation.
In response to Covington's (15-2) three-part call-out on Instagram, Woodley insisted he had been after former teammate Covington prior to signing the Edwards bout.
"Colby Covington is my number one choice. My number one choice, if I would fight him, Lord there is a heaven above. When they try make things for evil you make things my good," he said in a video on Instagram.
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(via @twooodley)
A post shared by ESPN MMA (@espnmma) on Mar 15, 2020 at 2:53pm PDT
"This would be the biggest delight. That's the fight that made the most sense anyway. That's the fight that I was supposed to get before Leon Edwards and they said he couldn't fight because of his jaw.
"The second they booked the fight for me and Leon, now all of a sudden his jaw is (expletive) healthy … I don't even wanna talk about Colby, he's scared.
"Also, I always get a wrap for … there's so many fighters (who say) any time, any place, any where until it's (expletive) me.
"Where's Nick Diaz? Where's (Donald) Cerrone? Where's Conor McGregor? Where's Colby Covington? Where is (Kamaru) Usman at?"
ESPN's Ariel Helwani later hinted that Woodley had made his mind up about the Covington replacement fight. While no bout has been agreed yet, Woodley stated he would definitely be "fighting on Sunday".
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Just spoke to @twooodley briefly. He wants to fight. And he is ready to fight, he said. He has shut off all media and didn't even know Edwards was 100% out. He has told his management he is interested in a particular opponent.
A post shared by Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) on Mar 15, 2020 at 12:48pm PDT
"Just spoke to Tyron Woodley briefly. He wants to fight. And he is ready to fight, he said. He has shut off all media and didn't even know Edwards was 100 (per cent) out. He has told his management he is interested in a particular opponent," Helwani posted on Instagram, alongside a finger-pointing emoji to a photo of Covington.
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