Stephen Thompson to Tyron Woodley: “It Sounds Like You’re Scared to Fight Me.”
It’s no secret that UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is not particularly keen on fighting number-one-contender Stephen Thompson. Instead, the champ infamously explained on Fox Sports that he is interested in “money fights” with the likes of Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre.
Unsurprisingly, Woodley’s stance is not going over well with Thompson. On a recent episode of Submission Radio, Thompson addressed Woodley’s strange reluctance to fight him.
On the show, Thompson recalled the first time Woodley rejected him on Fox Sports.
“He hits me with the, ‘nah man, you wanted to fight Robbie [Lawler], so you’re going to fight Robbie and I’m gonna get a money fight.’ I was laughing, but in my head I’m like ‘is this guy kidding?’ I’m looking at [Daniel] Cormier, and Cormier’s looking at me like ‘I’m pretty sure this guy’s serious, you need to go back at him.’ I was like ‘what the heck?’ It really surprised me. What champion doesn’t accept the number-one-contender?”
Thompson also explained that while he understands Woodley’s desire for money fights, he doesn’t believe the champ has accomplished enough for that kind of shot-calling.
“You hear Conor McGregor doing that, but Tyron is nowhere near the level of Conor McGregor when it comes to marketing and and popularity,” Thompson said. “He’s just not there. I think the fans see that as well.”
“You defend that title a few times before you ever start asking for a money fight,” he added. “Come on.”
Thompson later explained that, while he’s glad he’s kept his cool in the face of Woodley’s reluctance, he also wouldn’t mind the chance to tell the champ what’s up.
“If I could have gone back, or gotten [Woodley] in a room with closed doors, I would have definitely let him know at that time, ‘you’re crazy. A few months ago you were preaching that you deserve [the title fight], and you were ranked number-four, and they still gave it to you. Now you’re doing this to me? It sounds like you’re a hypocrite, man. That’s just crazy talk. It sounds to me like you’re scared, like you’re scared to fight me.’ I don’t know what else to say without throwing in a few cuss words.”
Safe to say that Thompson is starting to get a little frustrated with Woodley’s refusal to play ball. Do you think he’ll get the title shot he’s chasing, or will he wind up being disappointed? Sound off, PENN nation!
