With Surgery Looming, Tyron Woodley Says ‘I’ve Beat All the Tough People’ at Welterweight

With no big money fights coming his way in the near future, Tyron Woodley is officially opting for shoulder surgery.

The UFC welterweight champion previously hinted at going under the knife when negotiations for a bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 219 fell through, and now, with no viable contender in waiting, Woodley is ready to return to 100 percent before he defends his belt.

“I’m going to go ahead and get this shoulder repaired,” Woodley told TMZ Sports. “I’ve been saying, ‘You know what, I don’t want to get it cut on, I don’t want to get it repaired.’ But if there’s no fight that really makes a ton of sense for me to take the risk, to not be 100 percent with my shoulder, then I’m going to go ahead and have it repaired. They’re not going to do a full orthopedic rehabilitation, but they’re going to do a scope and they’re going to anchor down some sides. Then I’m going to get some PRP [platelet-rich plasma], some stem cells. I’m doing everything.”

Woodley last appeared at UFC 214, where he took a unanimous verdict over Demian Maia on July 29. He captured welterweight gold with a first-round stoppage of Robbie Lawler in July 2016, before facing Stephen Thompson twice in a row. Their first meeting resulted in a majority draw, but Woodley earned a majority decision in their rematch at UFC 209.

“The Chosen One” doesn’t sound especially enthusiastic about the top contenders in the welterweight division at this point in time. Woodley had hoped to challenge Georges St. Pierre, but the Canadian has vacated the middleweight belt he won at UFC 217 due to colitis. It is unclear if and when St. Pierre will return to the Octagon.

“All these fights are warm-up fights now. I beat all of the tough people. They’re all a warm-up fight,” Woodley said.

“I want to fight Georges, man. I offered to go up and fight him at middleweight and he faked some backside injury, and now he’s vacating the belt. So, I don’t know, man. I’m going to get my shoulder fixed and I’m going to watch the game be as ridiculous as it’s been and see who’s next.”