Tyron Woodley not open to Leon Edwards fight because he isn’t ‘a gatekeeper’

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is not interested in fighting Leon Edwards.

‘The Chosen One’ has not fought since he lost his title at UFC 235 in March to Kamaru Usman. Tyron Woodley was dominated in that fight and admitted he did not look like himself. But, given the fight was not that competitive, him getting a rematch may be out of the question.

So, instead, many point to a fight against Leon Edwards. Yet, Tyron Woodley makes it clear he is not interested in that fight because he isn’t a gatekeeper.

“I don’t have to fight Leon Edwards,” Tyron Woodley said on Brendan Schaub’s “Food Truck Diaries“. “Leon Edwards is trying to build his name, and I ain’t a gatekeeper for someone to build their name off.”

Who he does want to fight is the winner of Colby Covington vs. Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title. Tyron Woodley makes it clear he wants to get his belt back and Edwards doesn’t do that. It also isn’t an exciting fight for him.

“Why wouldn’t I fight Colby [Covington]? Why wouldn’t I fight Usman?,” Tyron Woodley said. “Fights like that excite me. Leon Edwards, he’s a beast. I covered his fights. He’s really good, he’s really sharp, he’s really accurate, he’s really humble.”

“I don’t mind that, though, when somebody is really good,” Woodley added. “Like [Darren] Till was very good, that geared me up, that geared me up to get ready to go. Leon Edwards is a fight that, if I was fighting him as champion and he came up, It would be like let’s go. It was always the passing of the torch. Like I used to be Leon Edwards; I used to be Till. Now it got to be the point where I was the guy on the throne. I had a million red dots on me. Everyone wanted to fight me, and I think a rematch with Usman makes sense, also a fight with Colby makes sense.”

Tyron Woodley also mentions he doesn’t need to fight. He plans on waiting for the title fight and then fighting for the winner to get his belt back whether the UFC likes it or not.

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This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/30/2019.