Tyron Woodley says Colby Covington turned down fight against him at UFC 249

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says that Colby Covington turned down a fight against him for the fifth time at UFC 249.

There is no love lost between Woodley and Covington, as they have been talking smack to each other for the better part of two years now. The two have been connected to a fight multiple times in the past but for whatever reason, it’s never been booked.

With UFC 249 coming up in less than two weeks and the UFC needle fighters to step up on short notice, both Woodley and Covington were once again connected to a matchup. Woodley says he accepted the fight, but according to the former champ, Covington wants no part of him inside the Octagon.

Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Woodley said that Covington has now declined a fight against him for the fifth time.

Woodley says this is the 5th time Covington has declined the fight. Says he dropped the ball again last night.#HelwaniShow

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 6, 2020

Woodley says this is the 5th time Covington has declined the fight. Says he dropped the ball again last night.

We have yet to get Covington’s side of the story, so there’s no telling what the real story is here. But one thing is for sure, and that’s that the UFC is looking to find fighters willing to compete on short notice at UFC 249. If Woodley’s story is accurate, then he was willing to do so, but Covington wasn’t.

Even if this fight doesn’t happen at UFC 249, it still seems like this is a fight the UFC would like to book at some point. Both Covington and Woodley hate each other and both men are each coming off of a title fight loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. This is a matchup that definitely makes a lot of sense at any point in time. So even if it doesn’t happen at UFC 249 it’s possible this bout could still happen down the road.

Do you think we will see Tyron Woodley ever fight Colby Covington?