Tyron Woodley plans to get past Usman, fight Covington in June
Tyron Woodley has his next fight booked.
The UFC welterweight champion will return to the Octagon on March 2 at UFC 235. However, he will not be fighting former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington, rather he will be taking on Kamaru Usman. Speaking to TMZ, Woodley has laid his plan down for the first half of 2019 and who and when he plans to fight.
“I just recognized that at some point I’m gonna fight all these guys,” Woodley said. “Obviously, the world would like to see me, f*ck Colby, up right quick. But, I think he’s trying to call shots and he’s not a champ so he can’t really do that. So I’m gonna go out there and fight Kamaru Usman and we’ll see what happens after that. Most likely I‘ll end up fighting Colby next up. Yeah, I’ll fight Colby next after that. Probably in June. I think they’ve got a fight in Chicago in June. I’m a midwest guy. I train in Milwaukee which is an hour and a half from Chicago, St. Louis is not that far, and I think I’ve got strong roots there as well so it would be a good fight to headline on that card.”
As mentioned, he will be taking on Usman who was last seen at the TUF 28 Finale in which he scored a unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos. Meanwhile, Covington, the other opponent Woodley was expected to fight also was last seen against dos Anjos in which he defeated him by unanimous decision back at UFC 225 in June.
Although Covington was promised a title shot next, he was passed over for Usman. Yet, if what Woodley is saying happens to come true, then Covington will be fighting for the belt in June in Chicago. The same month and place he won the interim belt.
Ultimately, the Covington fight can’t come to fruition unless Woodley beats Usman at UFC 235.
