Right after his big win over Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley made his demands for “money fights.” Specifically, he asked for either Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz.
“I feel no obligation to go by the rankings. We all know how those rankings are produced anyway. I want to fight the money fights,” Woodley said.
“The Chosen One”, however, will probably not be facing either one of the two fighters he mentioned. Instead, it was stipulated that he will be making his maiden title defense against number two-ranked welterweight contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Thompson previously criticized Woodley for such statements and “making excuses” to avoid the fight. He once again ripped on the champion in a recent interview with Submission Radio, this time, throwing Conor McGregor’s name in the mix.
“You defend that title a few times before you ever starting asking for a money fight,” Thompson said. “Come on, what’s going on? I mean, you hear Conor McGregor doing that, but Tyron’s nowhere near the level of Conor McGregor when it comes to marketing and popularity. He’s just not there.”
“I think everybody else, the fans see that as well. And it upset not just me, but a lot of other fans and people that follow the UFC too.”