UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley said in January he is the “worst-treated champion” in the history of the promotion and that fellow black fighters such as flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones haven't received a warm welcome either.
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Woodley's attacks were mostly against the sport's fans but he also blamed UFC as a company for failing to use him and other black fighters to capture the African-American market.
Those words claiming racial bias didn't sit well with UFC president Dana White, who said Woodley isn't liked by fans because of his social media presence, not because he is black.
“He’ll start fighting and arguing with people on social media," White said on ESPN Radio. "Then he wonders why when we show up for a press conference the whole crowd’s booing him. They’re not booing him cause he’s black. There’s tons of black guys fighting in the UFC. You know what I mean?
“It’s Tyron. If you look at the guy, he’s the perfect specimen, he’s the perfect athlete that you can get behind and promote until he shoots himself in the foot by doing that type of stuff.”
Woodley is set to defend his title against Stephen Thompson at UFC 209 on March 4 in Las Vegas. White says Woodley has the chance to become the next big star but he needs to stop being a "drama queen."
“The thing is with Tyron [Woodley], he’s a smart guy, he’s a good looking kid, he’s explosive, he’s got knockout power but he’s a bit of a drama queen,” White said. "The way that he’s talking about [being] treated, too and I think he means the fans, when a fight is made and Conor McGregor is a perfect example. Conor McGregor has that fight anybody, anywhere attitude but doesn’t just have the attitude, he lives it. I’ve stood in front of him [on] 10 days notice and his opponent falls out and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care. Bring them all in, I’m better than everybody, I’m the man, I’m the guy.
“If Tyron Woodley had that attitude, Tyron Woodley would be a massive star. But he does these things where he’ll say on Instagram where [the fans] know who’s next, who’s supposed to fight next, and he’ll go on social media and go ‘I’m not fighting him, I don’t want to fight him, I think I want to fight this guy’ and that’s not what people want to hear. People don’t want to hear that.”