UFC 228: Tyron Woodley open to defending title at MSG against Colby Covington

Steven Muehlhausen

UFC 228: Tyron Woodley open to defending title at MSG against Colby Covington image

It didn't take long for Tyron Woodley to start hearing what is next for him after submitting Darren Till to retain his welterweight title in the main event of UFC 228.

Immediately after his win, former interim champion Colby Covington laid down a challenge for Woodley to face him at UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 3.

 

 

Woodley heard about the comments made by Covington. While he didn't outright say Covington is next in the line, the tone of Woodley's voice made it pretty clear that he would like nothing more than to get his hands on his former training partner. And that would be a good show to do it at.

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“I’m not saying I am gonna fight him because I don’t feel like he deserves my platform right now,” Woodley said during his post-fight press conference. “He had his chance to be here. He bi----- out, if you want to be honest and frank. He talked all this crap and when he got in the hot seat, the second he won that belt, I said, ‘Let’s come get this smoke.’ He got quiet. Instagram account`s got taken down for a brief moment and he didn’t say nothing. I think it’s an embarrassment to the sport and if that’s the next person that’s gotta get the work, you don’t have to do much to get me up for that fight. We’ll see.”

Covington won the interim belt after defeating Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225. It had been discussed for the bitter rivals to meet on Saturday night, but Covington had sinus surgery and wouldn't have been ready in time to face Woodley. 

“[Covington] had a chance,” Woodley continued. “He let Darren Till go out there and take his whooping for him. He tried to pause and tried to wait for a bigger pay-per-view, because his eyes got big. My thing is, I’m gonna fight anybody. I’m the best in the world. Anybody they put in front of me, they’re gonna get beat up. If it’s Colby Covington, if it’s [Kamaru] Usman, if it’s [middleweight champion] Robert Whittaker. Whoever they want me to fight, we’re gonna do it.

UFC 230 currently doesn't have a main event set. Woodley exited UFC 228 without suffering any damage, so he has a feeling he will be getting a phone call soon. 

“What needs to happen is they’re going to call my manager, they’re going to make me an offer for a fight, and if it makes sense for me, it’s going to happen,” Woodley said.

He added: “The more I fight, the better I get. And the more comfortable I get, the more confident I get. So, I want to stay as active as possible. If November is a date they’re looking for a main event, I think they got their guy.”

Steven Muehlhausen

Steven Muehlhausen Photo

Steven Muehlhausen is a contributing writer for DAZN News. He writes features and news stories, and provides analysis relating to the world of boxing. Over the past five years, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in combat sports, including Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bill Goldberg.