Woodley responds to Dos Anjos’ call out: I saw a ton of openings, he’d get KO’d against me
UFC champ Tyron Woodley didn’t seem too impressed with Rafael dos Anjos’ win over Robbie Lawler.
Tyron Woodley was in the arena as Rafael dos Anjos bested Robbie Lawler by winning all five rounds of their UFC main event bout. The former lightweight champ has gone 3-0 since moving up to 170 lbs, and seemingly earned the next crack at the belt.
Woodley didn’t dispute his claim to be next in line, but at the same time, he didn’t seem to be too impressed with what he saw from Dos Anjos.
“In my opinion what I saw tonight, if any of those two guys in that bout would fight me, one of those guys is going to get knocked out,” Woodley said on the FS1 post fight show. “I saw the IQ wasn’t as high as I would’ve liked for a guy in a No. 1 contendership fight. Both of those guys talked about pushing the pace and they were going to do this and they were going to do that. I saw a ton of openings for myself in both of those fights.
“Obviously, I don’t want to steal the shine. RDA had a great moment, he went out there and did his job. Robbie Lawler’s a very dangerous opponent and he’s knocked out so many different people but just being honest and keeping it 100-percent, I’m the champion for a reason.”
"If (the winner of RDA/Lawler) were to fight me...they would get knocked out."@TWooodley assesses the welterweight landscape and the performance of @RdosAnjosMMA! #UFCWinnipeg https://t.co/9N6TJ9Ubii
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 17, 2017
Woodley is currently sidelined dealing with a shoulder injury that will need surgery. Dos Anjos, who has had a very busy last six months where he had three UFC bouts, has since stated that he is more than willing to rest and wait for the champion to return.
A lot can happen in the next few months that Woodley will be out though. Popular former champ Carlos Condit could make a splash in his return later this month, Georges St-Pierre might decide he wants to compete at welterweight, and don’t forget, they somehow tried to get Nate Diaz a title shot as well.
By beating the number two ranked fighter, Dos Anjos certainly made a very strong case to earn the next title shot. But as we have seen many times in this sport, things can change very quickly, and title shots aren’t always based on merit.