Since defeating Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 to become the new UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley has gone on to defend his title twice with both fights coming against Stephen Thompson. The first fight was at UFC 205 which ended in a draw but Woodley would go on to win their second bout at UFC 209.
Now, the UFC welterweight champion is on the lookout for his next opponent but in a recent interview he admitted that finding someone to face him inside the octagon has been more difficult than he thought it would be. Woodley has already started training for his next fight and he wants to return to the octagon by July.
"There's a lot of fighters who say, 'I'll fight anybody, anytime, anywhere,' but they really don't mean that. If Conor McGregor wanted to fight me, he has an opportunity to do so. So does Michael Bisping. So does Georges St-Pierre. So does Nick Diaz. So does Nate Diaz. All these guys have a chance to step up to the plate. But ain't nobody picked up the bat," UFC unfiltered quoted him as saying.
Demian Maia was also in contention to get a title shot against Woodley but instead the Brazilian mixed martial artist decided to take up a fight against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211. The fight between the two was announced just days before Woodley defended his belt against Thompson for the second time.
If Maia would have not accepted the fight against Masvidal he could have been in line to face Woodley in July. The Brazilian is currently on a six fight win streak which includes wins over Carlos Condit and Matt Brown.
Maia stated that the reason he took up the fight was because the UFC would not guarantee him a title shot but Woodley feels he made a mistake accepting that fight.
"Unfortunately for Maia, he accepted the fight the week of me and "Wonderboy"s fight. In my personal opinion, bad move. Wait and see how the fight went. If nobody came out of the fight hurt, a clear winner, not another draw, you're already in a position to fight for a world title," Woodley said.
"Why would you put yourself up against the worst possible matchup outside of a title fight? Why would you put yourself in that position?"
Masvidal and Woodley know each other very well as they train together at American Top Team and admitted that he is one of the toughest fighters to take down. Woodley thinks if Maia wants to win he has to take him down and force him to submit.
Maia is a multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappling champion with nine submission victories during his UFC career already and if anyone can pull of a submission win against Masvidal its Maia.
"Now if anybody's going to pull off a submission, we all know Demian Maia has to be the top four or five guys that are currently signed in the UFC so therefore he has a chance. Nobody's going to say he doesn't have a chance. But on paper, I don't know how he's going to get the fight to the ground," Woodley explained.
