Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley understands the politics of the fight game, which is why he wasnāt all that shocked to hear Dana White declare that Kamaru Usman is the greatest welterweight of all time.
Ahead of UFC 322 where Islam Makhachev claimed the 170-pound title with a shutout performance over Jack Della Maddalena, the UFC CEO went on Usmanās podcast and declared he was the GOAT. Of course, Whiteās opinion was immediately met with criticism due to most fighters and pundits putting Georges St-Pierre in that top spot after he defended the UFC welterweight title for a record nine times.
Woodley, who defended the title four times before he lost the belt to Usman in 2019, scoffed at the idea that his former opponent has ascended to GOAT status in the welterweight division.
āKamaru is not the greatest welterweight of all time,ā Woodley told MMA Fighting. āIām the realest. I had the realest route. I had the realest reign. I was the person who dealt with the most stuff behind the scenes and still managed to win, that I donāt even speak about. I fought all the top contenders that were not big trash talkers. Nobody wanted to say a bad word about Demian Maia, Robbie Lawler or āWonderboyā [Stephen Thompson]. I fought all the up and coming guys. Even Usman and Colby [Covington] and [Darren] Till, those are all up and coming guys.
āHeās not the greatest welterweight of all time. What he is, he is the one that kissed the most ass.ā
Woodley believes that Usman working hard to stay in Whiteās good graces over the years likely helped him secure that unofficial title as the welterweight GOAT more than what he did in the octagon.
When it comes to accolades, Usman did defend the title five times with two wins over Colby Covington, two wins over Jorge Masvidal and a victory against Gilbert Burns. Still, Woodley argues that Whiteās declaration isnāt as much about championship credentials as praising someone who followed his lead and didnāt rock the boat.
āHeās the one āOh letās have uncle Dana on my podcast,āā Woodley said about Usman. āāLet me accept every fight. Let me go to Vegas and just sit and loiter in his office every week and just try to stay in his good graces and just accept whatever offer.ā
āIf you do that long enough, you will be one of these guys that end up in the category where youāll now be rewarded because you took last minute notice fights, you fought injured, you didnāt complain about money, you didnāt ask for more, you didnāt ask questions, you always was trying to be goody two shoes and brown nosing. So yeah, heās the biggest brown noser in the welterweight division. He is a good fighter though.ā
Woodley promises he isnāt holding onto some long-term grudge against Usman because they fought once and he lost ā although he definitely wishes they got the chance to run it back. But he just doesnāt see how anybody could put Usman as the No. 1 welterweight of all-time, especially compared to St-Pierre and his resume.
āHeās a good fighter,ā Woodley said. āHe stayed disciplined but thatās what he is. Heās not the greatest welterweight. How can you even say that? Once you say heās the greatest and youāre trying to say heās better than Georges [St-Pierre], nobody even listens to you after that.
āWhen you really think about the era they did it, itās Georges No. 1, I would say itās Matt Hughes No. 2. Just because we looked up to Matt Hughes and he won nine times when it was a specialist sport, wrestlers versus strikers versus grapplers versus that. We got a chance to sit back and watch those two guys and then kind of carve out our deal. I would say me and Usman are probably tied for third. You canāt say Iām over him because he beat me but I never got a rematch. He fought a shit hole of a version of me. I was going through so much crap in life. I donāt even remember the fight. I never went back and watched the fight. I just feel like with his rematch history, Colby got to fight him twice, [Jorge] Masvidal got to fight him twice. Leon Edwards got a chance to fight him twice. Iām the only one that didnāt get a chance to fight him twice because they knew that 9 out of 10 times, if we fought, Iām going to win 9 out of 10 times.ā
Woodley admits he once had a close relationship with Usman when he first became champion and āThe Nigerian Nightmareā was still working his way up the welterweight ranks.
At the time, Woodley says Usman would often ask him for advice about his career and he tried to give him some guidance whenever possible. He believes their relationship changed while building towards their eventual showdown at UFC 235 in 2019.
āIām not hating. Kamaru is a great fighter,ā Woodley said. āHe was at all my after parties [asking me] āhowās it feel to be a champion? Howās it feel when Dana White [wraps the belt around your waist]?ā He was at my after parties after my title fights and asking me what he should do [saying] ātheyāre talking about me when I said I was only at 30 percent and how should I do this? Iām waiting and Colby is just waiting around.ā I was mentoring him and Colby telling them what they needed to do and how they needed to position themselves. You look at him dressing up trying to be flashy or be an analyst or get a Monster deal, thatās all from me. He wanted to do what I did.
āI was like big bro and then he almost got offended and heartbroken, remember when I was killing him during those press conferences about the LL Cool J stuff? Thatās the way I joke around. I grew up in a family of 13, we didnāt have money to go to a movie theater every week. So we did Apollo at the crib. We did a game called make you laugh and we poked fun and joked [with] each other. So Iām really good, Iām really quick with that. So I was just like friendly roasting him but he was getting mad. Youāve got to realize, Iām like what Matt Hughes was to Georges St-Pierre. Usman looked up to me. So the person he looked up to and got a lot of respect for is poking fun at him. He didnāt like it. We was calling him Marty and we was killing Usman in those press conferences and he was so mad.ā
Woodley says he only spoke to Usman briefly after they fought and he holds no ill will towards him but that doesnāt change the fact that he refuses to call him the welterweight GOAT.
āWe spoke a couple of times after that, he was like āyeah, I know that wasnāt the best version of you. I want to fight that version of you,āā Woodley said about Usman. āPublicly, he never ever mentioned a rematch. Because he already knows what time it is.ā
Right now, Woodley is nearing the date for his boxing match against fellow UFC legend Anderson Silva when they meet on the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua card on Dec. 19.
Woodley, who did the interview after spending the day filming Road House 2 in England, hasnāt fought in MMA since his final appearance in the UFC in 2021. While he did sign with the Global Fight League, Woodley canāt say for certain if his days competing in MMA are over.
Heās not shutting that door but Woodley admits it would probably take something special to get him back in the cage again.
āIām still praying to God about that,ā Woodley said about fighting MMA again. āBecause I wanted to go back and just finish with a bang. Give it a proper closure and go back and go out on a win. But Iāve got to really ask God is that my pride and my ego or is that your will? Because if itās my pride and ego, Iāve got to be willing if God says close that door. Because at 43 years old, my body aināt no 24-year-old body that can go eat a double cheeseburger from McDonaldās and walk into the gym and just torture everybody and have a six-pack. Iām starting to see lunch, dinner, whatever Iām eating, Iām wearing it now. So Iāve got to watch for the first time in life, Iāve got to watch what I eat.
āSo at the end of the day, if I walked away from MMA, is there something wrong with that? If I go back and beat five dudes in a row, am I even that much more of a legend? No. Am I about to gear back up and go on a whole new run and knock down young fighters and No. 1 contenders and get the belt and reign over it? No, Iām going to be looking for superfights no matter where I fight at. What sport it is donāt matter. Thereās a superfight that excites me and it puts me in a position where Iām geared up and motivated ā if Iām not geared up and motivated, Iām not doing it. Anderson Silva? Iām geared up. Iām motivated. This is Anderson Silva. Iām fitting to squish āThe Spider.ā Iām literally pumped up. Everybody canāt make me feel that way.ā
Of course he isnāt. Nobody has said that since he lost to Leon. He defended against three people, including fucking Masvidal.
GSP
Hughes
The rest
Dana just promoting Usman to set up an undeserved title fight against Islam.
Tyron spent most of his title reign and post title reign playing the victim, and thatās why he wasnāt popular or liked that much when he was on top.
- GSP
- Usman
- Hughes
- ???
- Woodley
Everyone who is on a win streak in the UFC is the greatest of all time.
Dana and Anik are used car salesman. And Rogan gets super excited and says things emotionally.
Thread title from the pages of āNo Shitā magazine
Iād put Hughes over Usman.
Usman has such a weak record.
Multiple wins over Colby, who sucks.
Multiple wins over Masvidal, who was a gatekeeper his whole career.
#1 is clearly GSP
#2 is a tie between Hughes and Colby
#3 is Marty, #4 maybe Woodley.
GSP
Hughes
The rest
Lawler
Heās the 170 version of Cain Velasquez, imo.
GSP teaching himself to be a top tier MMA wrestler as an adult with no competitive wrestling background is one of the most impressive feats in MMA history.
GSP is MMA Arnold Schwarzenegger
