Tyron Woodley Warns Johny Hendricks: You Gotta Walk Through Me To Get A Title Shot

Looking to rebound from a close decision loss to Robbie Lawler at last December’s UFC 181, former UFC welterweight champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks got back into the win column with a somewhat dominant display of wrestling against Matt Brown on the main card of last Saturday’s (March 14, 205) UFC 185 from Dallas, Texas.

The opinions varied on “Bigg Rigg’s” win, however, as some felt he looked great in dismantling the tough No. 5-ranked Brown, while others felt that he simply went back to his go-to skillset of wrestling to pick up a somewhat uninspiring victory. Joining the latter group after the card, UFC President Dana White said that he “didn’t love” Hendricks’ latest performance.

So while he is undoubtedly the No. 1 contender in a stacked division, it’s currently unclear if he will actually get the next shot at the winner of July’s UFC 189 Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald co-main event. There’s at least one top contender that believes Hendricks should face him in the meantime, and that is No. 3-ranked Tyron Woodley.

Laying out his own plans on this week’s edition of The MMA Hour, “The Chosen One” said he is eying a bout with former wrestling opponent “Bigg Rigg” when he returns from the broken foot he suffered against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 183.

“In the meantime, I think Johny should fight me. We got unfinished business from the Big 12 days. I think it’s a great style match-up. Two wrestlers with heavy power, beating a lot of top 10 guys. I think that when he made his stake to get to the title, he did the same thing Rory did. They beat all these guys and they deserved the title, but they didn’t get it. He finally got his opportunity. Now it’s guys like me, who has had some bumps along the road, but I’ve came back like elastic.

“Let’s be for real. Let’s get this going.”

Woodley also said his social media has been abuzz with speculation about the match-up after Hendricks’ win over Brown. He expects to see the recent ex-champ at this weekend’s NCAA wrestling championships, where he’s going to propose the fight, which he believes makes the most sense.

“I got the feedback from the fans and I know they getting it because unless you just turn your notifications off, the social media world has been booming talking about this fight. I think it makes sense. I might even see Johny this weekend at the NCAA tournament.

“I’m a say, ‘Hey, Johny. We can be cool before. We can be cool immediately after. We need to get this fight on, man.’ It’s what the fans want to see. It’s great for the wrestling community, which is pretty much 75 percent of the top fighters are wrestlers. I think this fight makes a lot of sense.”

Perhaps Woodley is basing his desire to battle Hendricks on his view of his fight with Brown, which he didn’t exactly view as a flawless performance. According to Woodley, it was actually Brown who looked more impressive.

“I thought he did what he had to do to win. I was more impressed by Matt Brown, to be honest. I thought Matt Brown on his feet, man, he looked phenomenal. He was landing some nasty elbows. He was pressuring. I think he just got outclassed with the wrestling and even when he got up, finally got away, he was right back on Johny.

“I think Johny weathered the storm. I think in another round or two, if he wouldn’t have been able to take him down, he might’ve been in some trouble, but he did what he needed to do. I’m not one of these guys. Let’s get this clear. I don’t call fighters out. I’m saying this is factual. It should happen because we got two top guys that are at a certain point in their career.”

It’s difficult to argue with Woodley in that regard, as it’s probably unlikely that Hendricks will be allowed to wait around for a title shot after he missed almost the entirety of 2014 following his razor thin decision win over Lawler at UFC 171. “Ruthless” and “The Red King” will throw down in what will most likely be a war at UFC 189, and after that, it’s anyone’s guess as to where the often unpredictable UFC welterweight division will go.

Woodley doesn’t think that defeating Brown is enough to get an immediate shot, citing Lawler’s arduous road back to his rematch with Hendricks last year.

“Think about Robbie Lawler. He lost to Johny within the last 90 seconds. What’d he have to do to get another title shot? He had to fight Jake Ellenberger and he had to fight Matt Brown. He had two fights in between, so why should Johny, who has been in the title fight the last three or four fights of his, why should he get an immediate shot after one win over a top 5 guy who has never beat a top 10 opponent? Let’s be real. You gotta walk through a guy like me to get a title shot.”

All of the sudden, Hendricks vs. Woodley for the next title shot is starting to sound enticing, but of course “The Chosen One” has to return to full health first. He’s confident he can do just that in time for UFC 189 this summer.

“That’s four months. I’ll be ready. Let’s do it.”

Adding that bout to UFC 189, a card that already include two blockbuster title fights, would put it on par with May’s unparalleled UFC 187 card. Should “Bigg Rigg” have to go through another top-ranked opponent to get his shot at gold?

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports