Tyron Woodley’s “Got to See” What Fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov “Feels Like”

Tyron Woodley understands that he’ll never be able to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at 155 pounds. But, the former welterweight champ says he’s more than down to face the undefeated fighter at say, 165?

Woodley’s recent comments about fighting Khabib

The decorated wrestler headed north to Vancouver this past weekend, and Woodley participated in a Q&A with fans. In addition to discussing a rematch with Kamaru Usman, and how their first bout unfolded. Woodley talked about the possibility of facing Khabib (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“He’s a beast, and I just think right now, in my life, in my career, I need the impossible,” Woodley said. “I need the stuff that nobody can do, I need the thing that’s going to motivate me beyond measure, and I think that he provides that. Obviously I could never make 155 (pounds), so it would have to be something at a catchweight. It would have to be something that he would be interested in. He’s on the top of the world right now. I may not be an option for him, so it’s more out of respect of what he can do.”

“I know Dustin. Dustin has sparred with middleweights (and) light heavyweights, and for (Nurmagomedov) to go out there and put on a performance like that against Dustin, I’ve got to see what it feels like.”

Could this happen?

Now, you can understand why a competitor like Woodley wants to fight Khabib. After all, the lightweight champ has never lost, he’s increasingly regarded as the best wrestler/grappler in the game, and his stock as one of the best fighters on the planet continues to rise.

But, the chances of this fight happening (and Woodley alluded to this) are slim and none. Recently Khabib has said that he’s not interested in moving up in weight, and that he wants to entrench his legacy by remaining undefeated at lightweight. So, it seems very unlikely that Khabib would explore fighting Woodley at 165, even if the latter was still the welterweight champ.

Further, Nurmagomedov has called for a bout with former interim champ Tony Ferguson, and he’s also made it clear he’s still interested in fighting Georges St-Pierre. Justin Gaethje is also in the mix at 155 as well, in terms of challenging for the lightweight crown.

As far as Woodley’s next bout, it’s still not clear what’s going to be next for the accomplished fighter. Woodley wants to run it back with current champ, Kamaru Usman. But the expectation is that Usman will face former interim champ and rival, Colby Covington next.