After lengthy reign as the UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley is now without a title belt. The former champ lost this distinction at UFC 235, when he was thumped to a decision defeat by Kamaru Usman.

That being said, Woodley’s journey is far from over. The former champion is determined to reclaim the UFC welterweight belt, and seeks to emulate Georges St-Pierre as he looks to rebound from his setback against Usman.

“Now I got to do similar to what Georges St-Pierre did when he lost to Matt Hughes and had to come back and avenge that, and lost to Matt Serra and had to come back and avenge that,” Woodley said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday (transcript via MMA News). “I thought that everything was on the up-and-up now — don’t have to struggle this much with the promotion, don’t have to struggle this much with the game plan. Had that pretty much down. Not that I got comfortable, but I thought my days of struggling was over.

“But they keep telling me the comeback is going to be so severe, it’s going to be so vicious that God had to [bring] me to this point. And when I come back, I’m not going to be able to even imagine what’s in store for me. So that’s kind of where I’m at mentally right now.”

Tyron Woodley is set to return to the cage at UFC Minneapolis on June 29, where he will rematch Robbie Lawler. Woodley defeated Lawler by knockout in 2016 to win the welterweight belt.

Do you think he can avenge his loss to Usman and reclaim the UFC welterweight strap?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/3/2019.