ANAHEIM, Calif. — Prior to UFC 214, Dana White assured Tyron Woodley that if he won his fight against Demian Maia, he would secure a big-money bout for him against Georges St-Pierre.
Well, a lot can change in a couple of days.
Although Woodley won the fight via unanimous decision and defended his UFC welterweight belt for the third consecutive time, the actual fight itself was so dull that fans at the Honda Center began to chant “boring” and incessantly booed Woodley both during and after the fight because of his passive and tactical fighting style. That was enough for White to change course on his statements and match St-Pierre up with middleweight champion Michael Bisping instead.
“I know Michael Bisping will fight,” White said during the UFC 214 post-fight press conference. “Michael Bisping will show up and actually fight. So yeah, we will give it to him. The ship turned around and (expletive) sailed back.”
Woodley and Maia set a record for the fewest total strikes attempted in a title fight. And even though Woodley stuffed 21 takedown attempts by Maia, White was not impressed and shared a conversation he had with Woodley following the fight.
“(Woodley) said, ‘I heard you were talking about my performance,’ And I said, ‘You broke a record tonight, that speaks for itself.’ He said, ‘Well he has (many) takedown attempts.’ So I said, ‘Yeah, not one of them were close, you fought them off and the guy had one eye since the first round.'”
White expressed his belief that Woodley could’ve finished the fight in the first or second round if he wanted to and insinuated that having Bisping fight GSP makes more sense financially for the UFC.
“You ask fans if they want to see Woodley fight again,” White said. “That would be a flat out no. Who wants to pay to see Tyron Woodley fight again?”
White didn’t specify when or where Bisping and St-Pierre would fight, but headlining the fight for UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden in November would be an appetizing treat for all MMA fans.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
