Tyron Woodley identifies his “toughest matchup in the universe”

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has proven he’s an extremely difficult man to beat, having bested top-flight foes in Robbie Lawler, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Demian Maia and many others. That said, the champ has tasted defeat in the past, most recently to reigning Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald.

Given the fact that Woodley has lost to MacDonald, some fans now consider MacDonald the top welterweight in the world. In a Twitter poll posted by MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, this seemed to be the consensus.

In January I ran a poll. 31+ thousand people voted for the Bellator champ as the best at 170. This narrative that you can’t be considered the best outside the UFC isn’t accurate anymore. This is proof. pic.twitter.com/DO4Jr9vilm

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 8, 2018

While Woodley quickly refuted the results of this poll, he did divulge that he considers Rory MacDonald his “toughest matchup in the universe,” and admitted he’s a fan of the Bellator welterweight king.

Is it? I’m willing to prove this wrong!

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) March 8, 2018

He is a stud and my toughest match up on the universe. Too bad we can’t dance again. But congrats on his success. I’ve always been a fan of @rory_macdonald https://t.co/d2dOnd2XTv

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) March 8, 2018

“He is a stud and my toughest match up [in] the universe,” Woodley said in a Tweet early Thursday morning. “Too bad we can’t dance again. But congrats on his success. I’ve always been a fan of [Rory MacDonald.]

Tyron Woodley’s loss to MacDonald occurred at UFC 174, in June of 2014. Since then, Woodley has bested Dong Hyun Kim, Kelvin Gastelum, Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson, and Demian Maia. Rory MacDonald, meanwhile, has defeated Tarec Saffiedine, Paul Daley and Douglas Lima, and lost to Robbie Lawler and Stephen Thompson.

Who do you consider the best welterweight on earth?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/8/2018.