Tyron Woodley claims Colby Covington wants $5M to accept fight

Over the last few weeks, there’s been renewed talk of a fight between Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington. According to Woodley, however Covington is driving a hard bargain.

Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champ, was originally expected to return to the cage against Leon Edwards on March 21 at UFC London. Unfortunately, the entire UFC London card was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After the fight with Edwards fell through, Woodley and Covington began jawing back and forth about a potential short-notice grudge match on US soil. The pair have been heated rivals since the height of Woodley’s title reign, so the groundwork for the matchup had already been laid.

While there is certainly plenty of interest in this matchup—particularly from the two fighters themselves—it still hasn’t come to fruition. The UFC has been hard at work constructing a trio of fight cards for May 9, 13 and 16, but thus far, this potential Woodley vs. Covington fight is nowhere to be seen.

Speaking on Twitter, Woodley claimed that’s because Covington wants $5 million to accept the fight. Woodley also added that the reason he hasn’t been rebooked for a fight with Edwards is because Edwards is stuck in the United Kingdom due to the ongoing pandemic.

Finally someone with fact. Leon acting like I’m dodging him and he not even an option cause he can’t get in the states. Colby wants 5mil 😂. Comedy https://t.co/wRZfTonINs

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) April 28, 2020

“Leon acting like I’m dodging him and he not even an option cause he can’t get in the states,” Woodley wrote in response to a fan. “Colby wants 5mil. Comedy.”

At this stage, it’s not clear if Colby Covington actually demanded $5 million for a short-notice fight with Woodley, but if he did, it’s understandable why the bout hasn’t come to fruition. If Covington were paid that much, it would be one of the biggest paydays in UFC history.

What do you think of this comment from Tyron Woodley?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/28/2020.