Tyron Woodley: I Shouldn’t Have to Campaign for Title Shot
After his win Saturday over Carlos Condit at UFC 171, Tyron Woodley believes he’s ready for a welterweight title shot.
In an interview with the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show, Woodley made his case for a crack at the title, broke down his win over Condit and more.
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On campaigning for a title shot: “I’m the No. 1 contender in the world. What they’re going to do with the division, we’ll see. I think on merit, I think on basic fact that I fought the guy nobody wanted to fight -- I beat a high-ranked guy. I think I have some impressive wins. I think I’m marketable. I think I’ll sell pay-per-views. I think it’s funny I should even have to talk about this. I shouldn’t have to campaign.”
On how the fight ended and the view that Condit was injured as opposed to Woodley beating him: “I feel as if it’s kind of diminishing the … fact that I beat Carlos Condit. He’s very hard to beat for anyone. What happened at the end doesn’t diminish what happened in the beginning or what was happening throughout the fight. It wasn’t as if he had me on the ropes. It wasn’t as if he had me in any harm or any threats throughout the fight. From the beginning until that point everything was going my way. So I feel it kind of takes away from me.”
On his pace in the fight: “I’m almost mad you didn’t see the third round. That wasn’t full speed. My full speed was to come because I knew he thought, ‘Hey, Tyron’s going to start fast. I’m going to start fast.’ And he doesn’t get in a rhythm that way; that’s why he starts slow. I knew that when he tried to go fast with a sprinter, he was going to get outsprinted and then therefore he would never get into a rhythm. Then in the third round, you’ve got to go for the kill, go for the knockout, and then I turn it up. I put the nail in the coffin. I surprise you because you want this five-round fight, because you feel as if you’re this cardio freak, but this is a sprint. Three [five-minute rounds] is a sprint. That’s not a marathon. That’s not a long-distance race. That’s a very fast timeframe, and I think I’m better at doing that.”
On whether he was getting tired: “When was I getting tired? When was he coming on? I think some of the commentating on the fight was kind of leaning the fans in a certain direction, but there are people that realize what was going on that’s got my back on that.”
On whether his performance warrants a title shot: “This is the funny part. Has anybody heard Carlos Condit complain about the [finish]? Carlos Condit thinks I deserve the title shot. You know who else thinks I deserve the title shot? Johny Hendricks.”
Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:02:42).
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