Tyron Woodley is going to fight Kamaru Usman next, but the UFC’s welterweight champ has made it clear he still wants to face Colby Covington. So much so, he hopes the UFC keeps Covington on the sidelines so that their bout doesn’t get kyboshed…

For much of 2018, Covington drove hard for a bout with Woodley, and after he won the interim title last June, it looked like the rivals would battle next. But, Covington opted to undergo nasal surgery last September, rather than face Woodley, and he reportedly passed on facing Usman in January. Thus, Woodley – Usman is scheduled for March 2nd.

Well, recently Woodley spoke with “The MacLife”, and the champ had this to say about his rival (quotes via MMA Mania):

”It’s funny that Colby had all that s**t to say,” Woodley said. “He had many chances to fight me and Dana finally, like I’m always getting called out, but for the first time Dana called him out, Colby had a chance to fight me in September and he didn’t do it. So … you can only take his f**king act for so long, eventually people are going to see what the real deal is.”

”…It’s not my job to promote, but maybe they should let him sit there and not make money for a couple months, and let me keep fighting and get momentum behind me and then come and get to him,” Woodley concluded. “I really don’t want nobody else to fight him because I think he’s going to lose. I don’t want Ben [Askren] to fight him, I don’t want [Darren] Till to fight him. I think those guys would beat him and it’ll mess me up for my chance to fight him.”

Recently it’s been reported that the UFC is looking at having Covington fight Till next, but “Chaos” has claimed he won’t fight for anything less than “undisputed championship” pay. So, it remains to be seen whether the UFC, in fact, calls on Covington to fight someone else in the interim, and if he doesn’t, whether they’ll tap him for a title shot. By the time either Usman or Woodley are ready to fight again, it will likely be summer.

The March 2nd, UFC 235 card will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.