Tyron Woodley: ‘I just need some respect on my name!’

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been given a lot of heat ever since being crowned the king of 170 pound divison.

Woodley has stated that he has dealt with a lot of criticism, negativity, and racism after he knocked out Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 in July.

On his Tuesday podcast of “The Morning Wood Show with Deez Nuts,” Woodley opened up and wanted to remind everyone of his recent accolades.

“Some people just have the short term memory that I just took out the ‘Fighter of the Year.’ A person that was nominated for an ESPY that had the ‘Fight of the Year’ against Rory MacDonald and can potentially be in position for the ‘Fight of the Year’ with Carlos Condit earlier this year, January 2nd for his title defense against him. So, I just need some respect on my name!”

In regards to people criticizing him for calling out for the big “money fights” with just getting the welterweight title, Woodley explained on the the “Anik and Florian” podcast that he was simply trying to kill two birds with one punch.

“People misunderstood what I said when I said I wanted a money fight (transcribed by FOX Sports). Maybe I should re-phrase that because when people hear that it almost sounds like I don’t care about the sport anymore. When you’re watching people in non-title fights making four times the amount of money that a champion makes, it takes away the flavor of being a champion,” Woodley said. “Me getting a money fight, me getting paid the way I feel a champion should be paid. So when I fight Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ (Thompson), this will be a money fight.

“Unlike some of the other guys in the different divisions, my fight that I asked for made sense. Not only would they be money fights, but they also would be legacy fights. You can’t deny that Nick Diaz is a top 10 overall welterweight Hall of Famer. Same thing with Georges St-Pierre, he’s No. 1 overall right now.”

As Woodley acknowledged in his podcast that he has been an underdog going into his last six fights, odds have opened up against him once again in his bout with Thompson.

How do you see the UFC welterweight title fight between champion Tyron Woodley and contender Stephen Thompson going? Give us your prediction in the comment section on how and when you see the fight ending!

Listen to the full episode of “The Morning Wood Show with Deez Nuts” below.

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