Tyron Woodley has been having an up and down day in Houston, Texas. As we told you earlier, his fight at tomorrow night’s UFC 192 card was cancelled when opponent Johny Hendricks was hospitalized due to kidney stones and an intestinal blockage. That meant he would not be getting a win bonus, either. So he stopped cutting weight, which at least made life easier, and then he got some great news: He will get the next available UFC Welterweight Championship shot. Yahoo’s Kevin Iole was the first to report this after speaking to UFC President Dana White, and Woodley confirmed it:
Just spoke with @danawhite and he said @TWooodley will get the title shot next, fighting Lawler-Condit winner. My post will be live soon.
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) October 2, 2015
@UFCONFOX My next fight will be a title shot! I'm not fighting anybody in between! @UFC #UFC I deserve that and my win bonus
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) October 2, 2015
Woodley has had a strange run to being the top contender, His only UFC losses were a highly controversial split decision against Jake Shields and a unanimous decision loss to Rory MacDonald. The MacDonald fight was notable for being announced as a number one contender’s fight/title eliminator, only for that distinction to soon be shifted over to a later Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown fight.
Woodley has admitted to letting the change get to him, leading to a flat performance because the fight “didn’t matter” anymore, s to speak. His last fight, in January, saw him defeat Kelvin Gastelum after Gastelum had his own disastrous weight cut and weight in nine pounds over after being rehydrated in the hospital.
The fight that cemented Woodley as a top contender was his dominant win over Carlos Condit at UFC 171 in March of last year. Condit is getting the next shot at Robbie Lawler at UFC 195 in January.
