Tyron Woodley is no longer the UFC welterweight champion. After a truly impressive reign, the long-time champion was unseated in the co-main event of UFC 235 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, surrendering the title to ferocious challenger Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision loss.
Ahead of this fight, Tyron Woodley repeatedly floated the idea of a future move to middleweight. His plan, he said, was defeat Usman and Colby Covington, and then head north in search of a second title.
“I’m going to fight this fight, I’m going to beat up on Colby after that, then I’m going after the middleweight belt,” Woodley said at a pre-fight scrum.
“I’m going after the middleweight belt. If I’m successful at grabbing the middleweight belt, then I’ll sit down with my coaches. It’ll have been one hell of a year. I’ve defended twice at welterweight, captured the middleweight belt.
“I’ve wiped out the division at this point in time,” he concluded. “It gives the welterweight some time to shuffle a little bit more [if I move to middleweight].”
After his shocking loss to Kamaru Usman, however, Tyron Woodley admits his priorities have changed. He now plans to attempt to reclaim the welterweight belt before attempting to earn the title at middleweight.
While it’s not clear who or when Tyron Woodley will fight next, he did humbly ask for a rematch with Kamaru Usman in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. Unfortunately for him, UFC President Dana White has assured that the first-crack at Usman will go to Covington.
What do you think the future holds for the former champ after UFC 235?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/3/2019.