Tyron Woodley

Now that Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman are expected to fight at UFC 245, talk about Leon Edwards and Tyron Woodley throwing hands has been making the rounds. But, as it stands right now, it seems pretty clear Woodley’s not on board with facing the surging welterweight next.

Usman vs. Covington

After Covington worked his way to a clear cut decision win over Robbie Lawler in August, the expectation was that “Chaos” would be booked to fight the champ Usman next. Then it was reported the UFC was trying to add the fight to its November 2nd card in New York City. But, Covington claimed he had been sent a low-ball offer, and speculation about who Usman might fight instead increased.  Edwards was one of the names mentioned, since “Rocky” has won eight straight.

Woodley’s comments about fighting Edwards

Well, more recently it’s been reported that Usman – Covington is being planned for UFC 245, December 14th. As a result, there’s been speculation about who Edwards could fight next, and whether he could face Woodley.

But, while talking to Brendan Schaub on his “Food Truck Diaries”, Woodley had this to say about fighting Edwards (quotes via BJ Penn.com).

“I don’t have to fight Leon Edwards,” Woodley said. “Leon Edwards is trying to build his name, and I ain’t a gatekeeper for someone to build their name off.”

“Why wouldn’t I fight Colby [Covington]? Why wouldn’t I fight Usman?,” Tyron Woodley said. “Fights like that excite me. Leon Edwards, he’s a beast. I covered his fights. He’s really good, he’s really sharp, he’s really accurate, he’s really humble.”

“I don’t mind that, though, when somebody is really good,” Woodley added. “Like [Darren] Till was very good, that geared me up, that geared me up to get ready to go. Leon Edwards is a fight that, if I was fighting him as champion and he came up, It would be like let’s go. It was always the passing of the torch. Like I used to be Leon Edwards; I used to be Till. Now it got to be the point where I was the guy on the throne. I had a million red dots on me. Everyone wanted to fight me, and I think a rematch with Usman makes sense, also a fight with Colby makes sense.”

Now, you can understand where Woodley’s coming from here to an extent. He’s one of the greatest welterweights the game has seen, he’s ranked higher than Edwards, and the latter hasn’t established himself as a household name yet. So, one could say Woodley has more to lose than gain by fighting Edwards.

That said, will fans be pumped for Woodley to rematch Usman? If the latter gets by Covington? Maybe not. But, if Woodley took out Edwards in emphatic fashion…

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