Tyron Woodley Opens Up About Reconciling With Dana White

UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley opened up about resolving his feud with UFC President Dana White, following a series of hostile public statements by both parties after UFC 214 last Saturday (July 29, 2017).

Woodley spoke to ESPN this week and said that after a few phone calls, the beef has been squashed.

“I still feel he should apologize publicly, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The conversation ended with respect and that was really my goal. Dana knows all about talking off emotion. I went a little (crazy) and was talking off emotion, too. Did I really plan on leaking stuff? Probably not. But at the time, I was mad and it sounded good.”

White criticized “The Chosen One” for his performance at UFC 214 against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Demian Maia, in a co-main event that broke the record for least amount of strikes thrown in a title fight.

Woodley, along with some mixed martial arts (MMA) analysts, defended his smart approach to the fight.

Since then, it has been revealed that Woodley suffered a shoulder injury in the first round which prevented him from throwing his fierce right hand. He has been medically suspended for 180 days for a torn labrum.

Furthermore, the champion also opened up about his fight with Georges St-Pierre, originally offered to the winner of Maia vs. Woodley, but since given to middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping.

“That was never going to happen. My fight played no factor in that.

“I want Georges to know there’s no shame in his game. I’m not saying he’s scared. He’s not coming back for a belt or to be the best. He’s coming back for big-money fights. He sees a sport in which he helped the pay-per-view model grow and he wants to get on it. There’s no shame in that. But don’t say you’re here for any other reason.”

Woodley will have to stay on the bench for some time while his shoulder heals, and in the meantime, St-Pierre and Bisping are expected to face off at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.