Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley was unable to get on track against Gilbert Burns recently, suffering a second consecutive decision loss.
However, Woodley is anxious to get back into the Octagon, and told ESPN that he has already accepted a fight with long-time rival Colby Covington.
“They offered me that fight, I told them I’m in,” Woodley said (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “I mean, I just don’t want to talk a lot about Colby because Colby is an actor, man. I know what he is doing and it makes sense and it’s kind of fun to watch but, at the end of the day, Colby has turned me down five or six times.
“But I think after losing two fights back-to-back I think it may be a time he may accept it because he may think I’m down and out.”
The feud between Woodley and Covington stretches back to 2018 when they were expected to square off for the belt. However, surgery knocked Covington from the planned fight and he was eventually stripped of the interim title without ever defending it.
Woodley went on to defend against Darren Till with another planned encounter vs. Covington being scratched over a contract dispute. Eventually, Woodley lost the belt to current champion Kamaru Usman, who would defeat Covington in his first title defense.
“That was the first thing they did,” Woodley said. “They wanted to see if I was alright then they offered me the fight against Colby. I told Malki (Kawa) to make sure you tell them today, yes. Don’t wait until tomorrow, tell them today yes. I got a contusion I’ve got to deal and I can’t fight anyway for 45 to 60 days because of the cut. I’ve been icing six, seven times a day, icing, ibuprofen, so I’ve been doing the right stuff.
“Fighting Colby right now is like fighting this race war. This brutality and just the unsettling climate of our culture. I’m just going to take it as that. So, they have offered me Colby and I once again have accepted again and we will see what happens.”