Tyron Woodley expects Demian Maia to lose his spot in line after “nightmare” matchup at UFC 211

Tyron Woodley expects Demian Maia to lose his spot in line after “nightmare” matchup at UFC 211

Current UFC welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor on a recent episode of Rapid Fire.

“The Chosen One” addressed a number of different topics including a potential scrap with current welterweight top contender Demian Maia.

“Well you know I don’t feel bad for him (Demian Maia), because you know it is like hey we are playing basketball and now the new three-point line is here. We moved it back a little. If you step in front of that line and shoot a shot, then it is only worth two-points. If you notice that line is back there, then step back behind it so you can make a three. He (Maia) understands that in this day of age you have to be marketable. You have to be able to communicate globally. He does have good English. You know another good example of this is Gegard Mousasi, and you heard his UFC 210 post-fight conference. I have a feeling some fans are going to want to jump on board with him after that. He let some frustration out and really let people know how he really feels.”

Tyron Woodley believes Demian Maia should have got the nod for a title opportunity at last month’s UFC 209 event, where he instead had a rematch against Stephen Thompson. With that said, “The Chosen One” doesn’t expect that the Brazilian submission specialist will hold on to his top contender spot after fighting Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211.

“So it is unfortunate for Demian Maia because as per the old rule work, you know the pure sport, he is the most deserving of a title shot. He was more deserving of a title shot against me than Stephen Wonderboy (Thompson) was for a repeat (UFC 209). Now look at him. He is matched up against a guy who just recently came to the welterweight division. This is a guy (Jorge Masvidal) who had a decent, but not exceptional career in the UFC’s lightweight division that is a nightmare match-up for him. I honestly don’t see how he is going to pull this win out against Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal has some of the best boxing in mixed martial arts. He is probably one of the top three boxers in all of the UFC right now. Plus he is hard to takedown. And now, with not having to cut as much weight, he is very fast and super sharp. So if Demian Maia can’t take Jorge down, how is he going to defeat him? So with that said I am not planning to fight Maia, because my gut tells me he is about to lose his place in line.”

Taylor asked Woodley, who is targeting to return at UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas, if he would be willing to fight Jorge next, this if Masvidal proves victorious against Demain Maia at next month’s UFC 2111 event in Dallas, Texas.

“Well then now you would have a guy (Masvidal) who is new to the division. That obviously would have a couple of good wins. Does he get a title shot? Well he is just basically playing interception. At that rate, you know, me and Jorge are cool man. I’ve had him on my show. I think very highly of Jorge Masvidal. I know the skills he possesses. I have seen him in the gym. To be honest, he has been on the bad end of so many split-decisions. There has to be at least five of those (split-decisions) where most people felt that he won those fights. Al Iaquinta for example. So his record is not something I would look at. I know how good of a fighter he is. The things is, and it is not all about followers and that, but he just recently decided that he is going to show his character, this new image. You know the lifestyle of Jorge Masvidal. But when you look at his followers, he has thirty-five thousand on Twitter. For whatever reason, that seems to mean something to the UFC now. I’m trying to build my brand and build my base. So I want to fight someone who is going to help build me up. With that said I would never deny a fighter, especially Jorge, a chance to change his family’s life. But also, I am not going to deny myself a chance at a crazy payday that changes my life and my family’s life. I feel that me and Masvidal would be cool if we fought. Like share a joint after party following the event. We will see what happens.”

Do you think that Jorge Masvidal can upset Demian Maia at next month’s UFC 211 event in Dallas, Texas?