Tyron Woodley eyes all three as future opponents but recognises that he must first beat Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson before he can “prove” that he is the best to ever fight at welterweight
Woodley’s comments were made on the UFC 209 media call prior to the headline fight of next week’s pay-per-view event of UFC 209. The champion will square off with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in a much anticipated welterweight title rematch following a majority draw at UFC 205 but feels confident that he has Thompson sussed:
“I’m not concerned about anything,” Woodley said. “What did he do in that last fight that should make me concerned? I’m not the one who got knocked down four times in one round, nearly submitted, completely dominated in that first round. I’m going to make an adjustment because I’m a martial artist, and I’m a perfectionist, and I’m a hard worker. But it’s nothing he did in the fight, and there’s nothing he could have done in the training camp that’s going to make him that much different of a fighter.
“With that said, no I’m not concerned. I don’t take it for granted, I don’t take any opponent lightly, and that’s why when I went out and fought him the first time he didn’t surprise me with anything he did. I expect him to do that. I actually expected him to do a little bit more.”
Tyron Woodley has previously claimed that he is the best welterweight to ever fight in the UFC. In order to prove this, he claims, a victory over “Wonderboy” is a prerequisite to his ambitions:
“I want to be the best welterweight ever, and there’s a few guys on the list, including finishing up this business with ‘Wonderboy’ that’s going to cement that for me,” Woodley said. “Obviously, Demian Maia, Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz. Those are guys that obviously are on that list. … (But) if I look too far ahead I’m going to come up with an ‘L’ on March 4, and then he’ll be fighting those fights.”
With UFC 209 little over a week away, “The Chosen One” feels that he is prepared to show the world just what he is capable of:
“I feel so much better than I did the first time I fought him,” Woodley said. “I thought during that fight I put on a great performance, and even going into this fight I’m so confident. I had the best sparring session of the entire camp today. I’m all positive right now. I can’t wait to go out there and prove to the world I’m the best welterweight in the history of our sport.”
