Tyron Woodley will not retire despite Dana White suggesting he do so

UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley says he will not retire from MMA despite UFC president Dana White suggesting he do so.

At UFC Vegas 11, Woodley lost his third straight fight when he was stopped by Colby Covington in the fifth round via TKO due to a rib injury. It was the third straight setback for Woodley after dropping his previous two fights to Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Woodley was completely shut out on the scorecards in all three fights, so technically he has lost his last 15 rounds, which is not a good sign going forward.

Still, Woodley has not looked like the same fighter he once was, and at age 38, fans and media are already speculating that this could be the end of the road for the former UFC welterweight champion. Following the loss to Covington, White suggested that Woodley should consider retirement. Not so fast, however. In an Instagram Live chat on Monday, “The Chosen One” Said he has no plans on retiring anytime soon.

Tyron Woodley was just on Instagram Live and said that he has no plans to retire or switch camps following his loss to Colby Covington.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 21, 2020

Tyron Woodley was just on Instagram Live and said that he has no plans to retire or switch camps following his loss to Colby Covington. (H/T Aaron Bronsteter)

Although Woodley has lost three straight fights, to be fair to him, his three losses came against three of the top-five welterweights in the world. So perhaps if he took a step back in competition and fought someone a bit lower in the rankings, then he could have another vintage performance and announce to everyone that he’s back.

If the UFC chooses to release Woodley, he would likely find a home in a promotion such as Bellator relatively quickly. Even though he hasn’t won a fight in two years, Woodley is still a big name in the sport and so it seems unlikely the UFC would just cut him. More likely than not, Woodley will have a conversation with the UFC and fight once again. But if he loses four straight fights, then it might be time for “the talk.”

Do you think Tyron Woodley should retire from MMA?