Tyron Woodley discusses potential options for his next title defense

Last Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 214, Tyron Woodley made a third defense of the UFC welterweight title with a decision defeat of Demian Maia. Unfortunately, Woodley suffered a torn labrum in the bout, which is likely to keep him on the sidelines for at least five months.

Though Woodley is likely to be out of action for the latter half of 2017, he has already begun considering the possibilities for his next title defense. Speaking to BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, the champ explained that there is not exactly a clear welterweight contender out there at the moment. He also ran through some potential welterweight matchups that might produce a clear-cut contender.

“You know there are a lot of guys who haven’t fought each other yet,” he said. “I thought [Stephen Thompson] and Masvidal were going to fight, but it sounds like Thompson is still injured. Maybe Masvidal could take on Robbie Lawler. [Donald Cerrone] could take on Demian Maia. Who knows. I heard Kelvin Gastelum is thinking about coming back down. But guys are going to have to win some fights man. Robbie is the only [top-5] guy coming off a win, and he needs to get another one before I fight him. Kelvin would have to come in and not only just win but make weight, and I mean scratch 170-pounds, at least two-times before I would even look at a bout agreement.”

From there, Woodley continued about a possible battle with Gastelum, who he defeated by decision several years ago.

“[Gastelum] has never proven that he can make [welterweight] and I am not going to sit here and play games with him. So if he wants another shot at me he will have to make championship weight twice in a row before I even entertain the idea of fighting him again. He would also have to win both contests and have those fights be against top contenders.”

Who do you want to see Tyron Woodley fight next?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/2/2017.