Tyron Woodley has made it clear in no uncertain terms will he not be fighting Kamaru Usman on short notice should Darren Till miss weight at UFC 228. This means that Kamaru Usman will not be a backup for the UFC 229 welterweight championship fight or the main event in general, but only for Tyron Woodley. (Via MMAFighting.com):
“[Usman] is a backup for me,” Till said to reporters Tuesday after an open workout.
“To be honest, I don’t really care. I feel like I’m the only fighter that’s ever missed weight in the UFC, to be honest. When we talk about weight now it’s, ‘Darren Till’. I missed weight, people need to just get over it.
“If Usman is there and ready and by some chance I miss weight…Tyron says he’s not going to fight him I’ve seen. It is what it is, they’ve got the backup, they’ve told him and he’s doing what he’s told, so I’m not arsed. I’m just focused on Friday making 170, and then Saturday; going in and absolutely destroying Tyron Woodley,” he said.
“That’s all I’m focusing on now. I’m not focusing on what she says or what he says online, or what Usman says, or what anybody says…I don’t really care. It’s Darren ‘I don’t care’ Till.”
Till went on to state that he is of a different mentality than Woodley, with Woodley being the safe, conservative champion, afraid of taking risks, while Till is of the “anybody, any place, any time” breed.
“We all have different mentalities on this,” Till said. “If I was in Tyron’s shoes and Tyron missed weight, I’d fight Usman. When you say you’re the best, and you believe you’re the best, you can fight anyone. I’d fight him.
“I understand where Tyron is coming from. He’s training for a 6-foot-2 guy — a big middleweight — strong power, good defense, puts pressure on…his whole game gets changed for a guy who is similar to himself in size, wrestling background and power. I can understand where he’s coming from, but he’s being, shall we say, a safe champion. He has reasons behind it.”
Would you fight Kamaru Usman on short notice if you were Tyron Woodley?
