Tyron Woodley is fighting Stephen Thompson next, but that isn’t the champion’s preferred matchup. He, of course, wanted a “money fight” against either Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz after his title win this past summer. That said, Woodley’s not completely upset with the “Wonderboy” bout, because it’s taking place at UFC 205, the promotion’s debut in New York.
Thompson has been clamoring for a title shot for months now, and his frequent call-outs of Woodley have finally paid off. But Woodley isn’t a fan of some of the comments he has made.
Just before Woodley agreed to fight him, Thompson had come to the conclusion that the champ was afraid to square off against him. But Woodley claimed that the bout had been in the works for over a month and that he has always been open for it.
“The thing that motivates me about this fight is, Wonderboy, I respect him as an opponent, but I really don’t respect him as a man,” Woodley told The Anik and Florian Podcast. “He knows that we committed to this fight almost six weeks ago. And for him to charade around like I’m scared to fight him, retweeting and liking all these posts, for someone to desperately need to that affirmation from the fans and for people to like him, I can’t respect that.”
Woodley admitted that Thompson’s words have irritated him greatly.
“For some reason, he has managed to get underneath my skin,” he said. “And I just don’t buy that fake humble, I just don’t buy it. When someone’s portraying something they’re not to get underneath my skin, I’m just going to funnel that into a great strategy and I’m going to try to get him out of there quick.”
Woodley vs. Thompson is currently slated for UFC 205, which takes place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 12.
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