Tyron Woodley Wants To Punch Dana White In The Face
Recently UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been in a public war of words with UFC president Dana White.
While it’s far from the first time we’ve seen a similar scene unfold, this time, the drama centers on White calling Woodley ‘full of s**t’ when he revealed he had been offered a title fight versus supposedly returning fan favorite Nate Diaz.
‘The Chosen One’ wants to clear the situation, so he addressed it on his ‘Hollywood Beatdown’ segment on TMZ Sports, clarifying that he didn’t say he had received a contract to face Diaz yet, just that the fight had been discussed in December and once again now:
“I don’t want people to think that I’m full of sh*t, as my boss said. And that I’m making this sh*t up. That a fight with me and Nate was never talked about in December and has never been brought up since then — that is bullshit. It has. Did I get a contract to fight Nate? No, I did not. So, if I’m not thinking about the highest prize as a prizefighter, I am a complete idiot. I should suicide slap myself.”
The discussion stemmed from an interview with ESPN where Woodley stated he thought Diaz would be his next fight, eliciting the harsh reaction from White. But Woodley said he was merely stating his thoughts, and never claimed anything resembling an official agreement had been made – just initial opening negotiations. From there, the champ said, things got a little blown out of proportion:
“I’m entitled to think whatever the hell I want to thin. I didn’t say, ‘Hey, the UFC has a bout agreement, we’re in the process of negotiations, Dana White called me and offered me the fight.’ So everyone took that and they ran through the roof with their perception of what that meant.”
Finally, Woodley said in a somewhat joking segment that he wanted to punch White in the face and wasn’t the only fighter in the UFC who wanted to sock the brash frontman:
“Let’s punch Dana White in the face. I know so many fighters on the UFC roster may have been wanting to do this for a long time.
“You gotta get these hands. Can’t hide behind the black suit and the promotion anymore. You gotta get this right hand.”
Woodley’s clash with White is only the latest in an ever-growing, never-ending list of fighters who have an issue with the longtime president under new owners Endeavor.
With each passing event, White seems to be throwing more fighters under the bus, a baffling instance of counterproductivity considering he’s trashing the athletes who he’s supposed to be promoting and also the athletes responsible for aiding Endeavor in making back their $4.2 billion investment.
Fighter morale seems to be at an all-time low in the UFC as of right now, and Woodley is one of the biggest-name fighters to make his discontent public, although he’s far from the only one. Will White continue to stand in his own – and Endeavor’s – way?
