Tyron Woodley Responds to Colby Covington: ‘You Were and Always Will Be My Warm-Up Round’

It appears now that Tyron Woodley is ready to answer Colby Covington’s challenge – not that he has much of a choice anymore.

Covington claimed the interim welterweight crown with a with a five-round verdict over Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC 225 co-main event at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday night. Covington, who has been angling with a matchup with Woodley for quite some time, continued to target the undisputed 170-pound king after the victory.

“This moment is exactly what I dreamed of. This is what I’ve been saying all week, to all the media, to all the fans. This is my moment and nobody can say anything about it. I’m the new money fight in UFC,” Covington said. “Tell Tyron Woodley that his time is up. This is the real belt. He was supposed to be the one fighting me tonight and he wouldn’t show up. I’m the welterweight champion. I’m the new king here.”

Woodley, who was last seen taking a five-round verdict over Demian Maia at UFC 214 in July, didn’t take long to respond to his antagonist and onetime American Top Team stablemate.

“Bitch please! I let you bump your gums. Now you got smoke! I’m exposing you,” Woodley wrote on Twitter. “You were and always will be my warm-up round.”

Bitch Please! I let you bump your gums. Now you got smoke! I’m exposing you. You were and always will be my warm-up round! #UFC187 https://t.co/cVzrj6Iq1O

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) June 10, 2018

Covington has won six straight fights and nine of 10 since making his UFC debut in August 2014. “Chaos” surprised even UFC President Dana White with his performance against dos Anjos, the former lightweight champion.

“I thought it was a real technical battle back and forth. I was impressed with Colby because I didn’t think that Colby would be able to keep RDA off him,” White said on Fox Sports 1. “RDA is such a well-rounded fighter. I thought that Colby was too one-dimensional….I thought RDA was gonna be way too much for him and have too much for him, but I was wrong.”

With that in mind, White believes Woodley presents some different problems for Covington, but he has learned not to doubt the All-American wrestler from Oregon State University. At this point, it is unclear when Woodley vs. Covington will be booked.

“Stylistically, Tyron’s hands are better and he hits a lot better than [Colby] does. But the wrestling matchup is interesting,” White said. “I didn’t think Colby would match up with RDA but I was wrong, so it will be interesting to see what happens with Tyron.”

Get this bitch ready! @ufc @danawhite hit my line now! pic.twitter.com/6gzKwyvKpH

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) June 10, 2018