Tyron Woodley’s manager predicts pain for “The Chosen One’s” next opponent.
Woodley hasn’t been seen in action since March 2019. He lost his UFC welterweight gold against Kamaru Usman at UFC 235. It was a one-sided loss and despite the inactivity since, Woodley has promised to come back stronger than ever. He’s even expressed his belief that he’s still a “nightmare” for Usman.
Woodley’s Manager Feels Sorry For Next Opponent
Abe Kawa, Woodley’s manager, told BJPenn.com that Woodley is so motivated that his next opponent is in for a beatdown.
“It’s not done,” Kawa told BJPENN.com in regards to the reported matchup with Edwards. “They’re jawing at each other right now. All I’ll say is, I just feel bad for whoever has to fight Tyron next. You guys are pissing that guy off to a whole other level and a motivated Tyron is not somebody you want to see at the end of that cage. God bless whoever has to fight him next.”
Much has been made about a potential matchup between Woodley and Leon Edwards. While Edwards has expressed interest in the bout several times, the former UFC welterweight king has claimed he will not fight “Rocky” in enemy territory. While Woodley vs. Edwards has been reported for UFC London in March, Kawa claims the bout hasn’t been signed yet.
As far as those who believe that Woodley’s run at the top is over go, Kawa disagrees.
“Listen, everybody knows that Tyron we saw against Usman, that’s not even the Tyron that fought Rory [MacDonald],” Kawa said. “It was a shell of that guy. We got together and tried to identify why, who and where we’re at and I think we found it. I say we because it’s always a conversation with us, between me and Tyron. And it’s always a good conversation. I’ve never had one bad conversation with him. This may sound a little off base, but it’s not mindset. You can’t tell a fighter, ‘you don’t want to fight.’ It doesn’t exist. A fighter is going to fight until he’s 90, or until he’s dead.
“So when people say he’s not motivated and his head is not in the game, that’s not necessarily true. Now, does he have a lot of things going on outside [of fighting], yes. And I encourage that. I’ll still tell him to do it and tell all my guys to do the things they want to do outside of fighting. You’ve got to think, most guys when they train — let’s say they train three times a day — they don’t train for two hours every session. That could be three hours total for the day. I’ve heard Tyron say in an interview, and he made a good point, what are they supposed to do for the other 15 hours that they’re awake? Are they just supposed to sit around and only think about fighting? That would drive a person crazy. It doesn’t work that way.”
