EXCLUSIVE | Tyron Woodley explains why he’s not fighting ‘legend’ Nick Diaz at UFC 209

The next match for UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is still up in the air. However, the king of the UFC 170-pound division does have a few names on his list that he would like nothing more than to do battle with in the Octagon.

With potential fights against UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, MMA legend Nick Diaz, and another go with Stephen Thompson for a rematch, Woodley is waiting to see which pieces of his next matchup puzzle will come together.

With UFC 209 being tailor made to feature one or both of the Diaz brothers, BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor recently reported that Nick has turned down a couple of huge fights from the UFC.

I jumped the gun with "headlining".. Apparently Woodley vs. Thompson 2 is targeted to headline #UFC209, Diaz vs. Lawler 2 would be co-main.

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) December 13, 2016

I have confirmed that Nick Diaz recently turned down a fight with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) December 28, 2016

Apparently Nick said no to the offer because “That is Nate’s fight” and he wouldn’t take that away from his little brother.

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) December 28, 2016

Wow! So Nick Diaz has turned down fights with both Conor McGregor and @TWooodley. Who are you waiting for @nickdiaz209? #UFC209

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) December 29, 2016

Taylor recently caught up with Woodley on Tuesday’s episode of Rapid Fire to talk about why a matchup with Nick Diaz is unfortunately not happening at UFC 209.

Chris Taylor: “You had called out former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz following your fight with Thompson at UFC 205. I recently discovered that Nick had turned down a fight with Conor McGregor, because that was “Nate’s fight”, and that he also turned down a title fight with you. Now Joe Rogan is reporting that Diaz also turned down a rematch with Robbie Lawler. Did you ever get offered the Nick Diaz fight from the UFC?”

Tyron Woodley: “I just asked Nick. I saw Nick in a night club. We hosted a party at Hakkasan. I was with TJ and Demetrious Johnson and Cody Garbrandt hosted his party there. So I see Nick Diaz there and went up and asked him. It is not like Nick is scared of fighting you know.” He said laughing. “He’s not scared to fight me or Robbie or Conor McGregor. Nick wants to get paid man. He’s held out in the past and it has worked out in his favor. He went out there and fought Anderson Silva for close to a million bucks. He knows that he pushes the needle. Plus there is a card, 209, so he understands what he is worth to that card. So I can’t knock him for that. It’s more of a situation of him wanting to get paid.”

He continued:

“This is the honest truth man. I can sit here an act like I am Bruce Almighty but Nick Diaz is a bigger draw than me. He is a bigger name than me. Me fighting him and me wanting to fight Nick is because I recognize and realize that I am the world champion but Nick Diaz is a legend. He has had to fight the guys like Diego Sanchez, Paul Daley and Frank Shamrock. He has had to have wars with Georges and BJ Penn to get his name to where it is. So all I am trying to do is fight the Robbie Lawler’s, fight the Nick Diaz’s , GSP’s and Conor McGregor’s so that I can become a name that enters in to the legend category. Then people will want to fight me for the same reason I want to fight Nick. That’s all it is. There is nothing personal. I respect him as a fighter.”

Who would you like to see Tyron Woodley face next? Sound off in the comment section!