Did Tyron Woodley reject a fight against Gilbert Burns because he didn’t want to risk losing?
Before UFC Fight Night London was cancelled altogether, officials were scrambling to find a replacement for the former UFC Welterweight Champion due to Leon Edwards pulling out of the fight. Burns was the first man to volunteer; however, names such as Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos added their services to the mix and Woodley ended up turning down a fight with Burns.
The Brazil native has been on a tear since losing to Dan Hooker at UFC 226, with the 33-year-old getting strong wins over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Mike Davis, Alexey Kunchenko, Gunnar Nelson, and most recently, Demian Maia. Covington was coming off a loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 and Dos Anjos is currently in the midst of a two-fight losing streak, and according to Burns himself, he believes that Woodley turned down the potential fight because it was the riskiest:
“Everything was going good until Colby [Covington] started talking a little bit, then the fight turn a little bit towards Colby’s side,” Burns said MMA Fighting. “But then he wasn’t cleared to fight and I was cleared. [Rafael dos Anjos] got in the conversation as well. They’re looking for RDA.
“To be honest, Tyron Woodley declined the fight a couple times until he got options. He got Colby, so he’d rather get Colby. RDA got in the conversation, he’d rather fight RDA. But for sure, I was the riskiest fight for him.”
Woodley has stated that he intended to fight the Brazil native at UFC Fight Night London; however, Burns called the former welterweight champ a liar and continues to claim that Woodley had no intention of stepping inside of the octagon against him:
“There’s a lot of risk for him,” Burns said about fighting Woodley. “I can knock him out. What’s he going to do? Take me down? And do what? I’m one of the best grapplers in that division for sure. It’s a risky fight. But my management and Woodley’s management, they dislike each other so that conversation might be crazy. I don’t have a lot of clue what he’s talking about but I know they don’t like each other. But I’m a risky fight for Tyron Woodley, I kind of get it. It’s business. For sure, I was the riskiest fight for Tyron Woodley.”