“Usman Is Who He Is Because of Me” – Tyron Woodley Claims Credit for Kamaru Usman’s Success

Tyron Woodley had his time at the top of the food chain in the welterweight division. His reign was ended by the current welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Despite suffering a convincing defeat at the hands of Usman, Woodley thinks he had a big role to play in propelling the Nigerian to where he is today.

After a crushing defeat at the hands of Usman, Woodley stayed away from the sport for some time. He was planning to return to action against Leon Edwards in March in London. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to be canceled altogether. Woodley ended up facing and losing to Gilbert Burns later in May.

With two consecutive setbacks, the 38-year old is now looking to bounce back in his next fight. He has been going back-and-forth with former interim champ Colby Covington. During an appearance on Real Quick With Mike Swick Podcast, ‘The Chosen One’ provided an update on his next fight. He said that the deal with Colby Covington is very close to being finalized.

“It’s a hard fight because of the pressure and because of what is at stake. It’s a hard fight because he wants to prove that he can beat me and this is his whole brain. His entire brain is wrapped around me,” Woodley said regarding his most likely next opponent, Colby Covington

Tyron Woodley says his head wasn’t at the right place during the fight with Kamaru Usman

During his time as a welterweight champ, Woodley was very dominant. However, around the time when he fought Kamaru Usman, he had a lot of things going on in his life. He had started his rapping career around the same time. Woodley has blamed a lack of focus on his part for the eventual loss against Usman.

The loss also set off a chain of events that made 170-pounds one of the hottest divisions on the roster. Usman had his first title defense against Colby Covington. The fight turned out to be one of the best fights for the welterweight belt. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ then went on to defeat Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 in one of the highest-selling PPV events of recent history.

However, none of this would’ve happened had Woodley not lost to Usman.

“Usman is who he is because of me. I’m still his biggest win. I’m still his biggest conversation. If it weren’t for me vs Usman there won’t be no Colby vs Usman. There would be no Masvidal vs Usman.”

“If I had my head on straight and I f***ing took care of business that night, I wouldn’t be fighting to buy all these different opportunities. Colby has to beat me and that urgency is what’s going to make me go out there and just get it in,” he added.

With age not on his side, Woodley can’t afford a third straight loss on his resume. According to him, the fight against Colby Covington is the biggest one of his career. Given the history between the two and Colby’s knack for garnering attention, the fight will surely be one to look out for.

Source | Tyron Woodley vs Colby Covington is Official! | Real Quick With Mike Swick Podcast