Dana White: Tyron Woodley Has To Make Fans Want To See Him Fight For The Title

When the UFC 174 co-main event between No. 2-ranked welterweight Rory MacDonald and No. 3 Tyron Woodley was booked in April, it was largely thought that the pivotal bout would decide the next contender to Johny Hendricks’ belt.

After all, MacDonald, who has long been thought to be the clear heir apparent to his good friend and training partner Georges St. Pierre, was coming off a solid decision victory over Demian Maia at UFC 170. With “GSP” retired (at least for the time being), the stage was set for “Ares” to battle Woodley, who beat former interim champ Carlos Condit via injury TKO at UFC 171, for a pending shot at gold.

But that distinction soon fell upon July’s Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown UFC on FOX 12 headliner.

And despite MacDonald and Woodley’s lofty rankings, that might be the best course of action. “Ares” recently lost a decision to Lawler at UFC 167 last November, while Woodley was out-grappled by Jake Shields just three fights ago. There’s still an air of doubt hanging in the air concerning Woodley’s win over Condit as well, with many believing “Chosen One” would have gassed and allowed his opponent to come back.

Woodley has since been talking an insane amount of trash about anything and everything in an effort to make his name more prominent.

UFC President Dana White spoke up on “The Download” to discuss his case. According to White, Woodley has to put on a show impressive enough to make fans want to see him fight for the title. His words:

“It’s not that anybody can get a title shot or rematch – the Lawler-Johny Hendricks fight was so close. Everybody thinks Woodley gasses out after the first round. This is Tyron’s shot right here. Nobody is beating down the doors after Tyron’s last two performances for him to get a title shot. He’s explosive and exciting, but there are question marks there. This kid MacDonald has the exact style to tire him out and make him gas out. We’ll see. 

Woodley – half the time he has a killer instinct and goes out there and destroys people, and half the time he doesn’t. He’s a 50/50 guy. MacDonald is the same thing. It’s a big fight for both these guys. Woodley has to go out and make people want to see him in a title fight. This is his big opportunity. So let’s see it. Go out and deliver this weekend and make people talk about you and see you in a title fight.”

It sounds like White set out to put Woodley in his place, and he makes some good points. The technical, well-rounded style of MacDonald is perfect for gassing out a heavily muscled power slugger like Woodley, so “Chosen One” will most likely have to do major damage early on.

If he can’t, he may fall victim to MacDonald’s jab and precise striking combinations. “Ares” has only been finished once in his entire career, and that was in a bout with Condit that he was previously winning. It could also be argued that the stoppage was a bit early.

In any case, the only thing Woodley and MacDonald can do to get closer to a title shot is win at UFC 174. Will Woodley make the statement required of him by scoring the biggest win of his career?

Photo: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports