'I'm just grateful' - Tyron Woodley refuses to give a direct answer to question about him still being in the UFC
Tyron Woodley has seemingly refused to give a direct answer to the question about him still being in the UFC.
Be it his job as a UFC fighter or a UFC analyst, Woodley has suggested that he doesn’t have the ‘green light’ to speak about his UFC status right now.
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is coming off a first-round submission loss against Vicente Luque at UFC 260 (March 27th, 2021). The MMA world has lately been rife with speculation regarding Woodley potentially being released from the UFC after his recent loss.
During an appearance on ESPN MMA’s Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Tyron Woodley opened up on a myriad of topics. One of the topics discussed during the interview was Woodley’s current UFC status. Helwani noted that the recent fight against Vicente Luque was T-Wood’s last fight on his UFC contract, in response to which Woodley stated:
“I can’t speak on all that. I ain’t got the green light.”
Ariel Helwani then pointed out that UFC president Dana White, at the UFC 260 post-fight press conference, had alluded to the UFC potentially releasing Tyron Woodley. Helwani questioned Woodley about whether or not he knows where he currently stands with the UFC.
Tyron Woodley responded to this by explaining that he’s not one who trusts people easily. He noted that he grew up exercising an abundance of caution with regard to whom he trusts. Woodley added that he adopted this behavior for every aspect of his life, including his business dealings with the UFC.
Woodley indicated that this penchant of his, along with several other factors such as the media, led to several miscommunications and an oftentimes strained relationship with the UFC brass. Woodley stated:
“You know what, I’m just grateful, Ariel. I’m gonna be real with you, like, like I’ve said in the past, at the press conference, there’s some times that I felt like I was right. There’s some times, looking back, I could’ve been like, always looking and lurking and waiting – Because I don’t trust a lot of people. And it’s been sometimes I feel like some things could’ve been done differently. So, I’m always, as the businessman, and just somebody that, I just grew up with this lifestyle. Like, you’ve got to look over your shoulder. You’ve got to watch. I’ll see, if you’re with me in a bar, I’ll paint the whole scene. I’ll tell you where the exits are. I’ll tell you who’s a little suspect, who whatever. I’m that guy.”
Tyron Woodley highlighted that he’s made a few changes to his training as of late. The Chosen One revealed that he’s in a much better place right now, both mentally and physically, and is rejuvenated ahead of whatever his next challenge is in the realm of combat sports. That said, Woodley reiterated that, as of this time, he can’t reveal much about his current UFC status:
“So, I really don’t have a lot of answers. Like, am I UFC still? Am I this, am I that? I don’t know.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Furthermore, Tyron Woodley explained that he would like to reach an agreement with the UFC whereby he would be allowed to compete against and defeat Jake Paul in a pro boxing match.
Tyron Woodley aims to snap his four-fight losing streak and is open to boxing Jake Paul
Presently, Tyron Woodley is on a four-fight losing streak. Woodley lost his UFC welterweight title to Kamaru Usman in March 2019, and then went on to suffer three more losses – against Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Vicente Luque.
That said, Tyron Woodley has recently received widespread praise from the MMA community and has generated quite a buzz in the combat sports world for standing up to Jake Paul and his entourage. Woodley has been hailed for his composure in his backstage verbal confrontation with Paul and the latter’s entourage at the recent Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing event.
Many in the MMA world have been calling for Tyron Woodley to fight Jake Paul in a pro boxing match and defeat Paul on behalf of the MMA community. Whether or not that fight comes to fruition remains to be seen. Moreover, Woodley hasn’t closed the door on his MMA career either.
Would you like to see Tyron Woodley box Jake Paul or continue his MMA career in the UFC? Sound off in the comments.