Manager: Kamaru Usman “100 Percent” Fighting Woodley For Title
We aren’t quite certain whom UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will be fighting next.
Most believe he’ll take on former interim champion Colby Covington in his next title defense, but top contender Kamaru Usman recently posted a photo of a signed bout agreement to face ‘The Chosen One.’
That uncertainty has the welterweight title picture in a murky cloud until we know just when Woodley will return. However, Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz is apparently much more sure of the situation. He claimed on MMAjunkie Radio via Mike Bohn that Usman is “100 percent” fighting for the belt next:
It’s hard to deny Usman’s recent body of work. He’s won all nine of his official UFC fights and most recently dominated former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of November 30’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale. However, he’s only finished two of those wins and none against top competition.
You could argue that Covington isn’t exactly a ruthless finished either, and you’d be right. Both he and “The Nigerian Nightmare” are known for their wrestling-heavy style. It’s effective but doesn’t always lead to the most crowd-pleasing fights (or ever).
Regardless, Covington and Usman are the clear top two contenders for Woodley’s belt, which he’s gotten quite a bit of flack for not defending soon. But ‘The Chosen One’ just fought Darren Till in September and required thumb surgery afterward, so maybe that criticism is a bit impatient.
He’s tentatively planning to return at March 2’s UFC 235. If it’s against Covington or Usman as Abdelaziz guaranteed, we’ll have to wait and see.
