Welterviktsmästaren Tyron Woodley (18-3) försvarade senast sitt bälte mot Demian Maia (25-8) på UFC 214 i slutet av sommaren förra året. Sedan dess har han genomgått en operation av axlarna men ser ut att vara påväg tillbaka snabbare än vad han förväntat sig. I en intervju med MMAJunkie fick Woodley frågan om han skulle vilja gå sin nästa match på UFC 226, varpå han svarade att det skulle vara det perfekta datumet att komma tillbaka på.
At that point, it will be perfect time, and the proper opponent will emerge. Keep me on the big cards, because at the end of the day, I’m the best in the world.
Vidare uttalade sig Woodley om hur han ser på potentiella motståndare, och att han anser Rafael Dos Anjos (28-9) vara den mest värdiga.
Rafael Dos Anjos is probably the closest. Of anybody in that pool, it would probably be him. The other guys that are talking and chirping, they know they’re not in position to fight me. But they figure, hey, nobody else is going to fight him, why not try to put myself in position. But none of these guys really want to see me. They all talk about wanting to fight – my toughest matchups are behind me. Of course, they want to talk. They want to fight. They saw what Conor McGregor did, and it’s unfortunate that some guys that aren’t even good at trash-talking are trying to talk themselves into a fight. They want to fight. They saw what Conor McGregor did, and it’s unfortunate that some guys that aren’t even good at trash-talking are trying to talk themselves into a fight.
Woodley anser även att han själv har gjort mer för att visa sig förtjäna titeln än vad andra fighters i viktklassen har gjort.
I’ve earned my position, even before the UFC in Strikeforce. Name the last easy fight I ever had. I’ve been fighting killers, former champions, former title contenders, and that’s been my road to the top. So if these guys want to make me interested, they need to win a little bit more. They need to make their resume a little bit stronger.
UFC 226 kommer att gå av stapeln den 7:e juli i Las Vegas, USA.
