UFC President Dana White is in the news stating that he is waiting for Tyrone Woodley to accept his next assignment at welterweight, which would be a match against Hector Lombard. It would be a match-up of two top contenders, and could lead to a title shot in early 2015.
Now, after his last win, a just about a minute long beat down of Dong Hyun Kim a week ago, Woodley called out Matt Brown, who is coming off a 5 round loss to Robbie Lawler and has taken a step back in the rankings. White pointed out that they are waiting for Woodley to accept the match, as Lombard has already agreed to it, and he also pointed out that in terms of contenders, Brown slipped in the rankings and is actually rated below Woodley already.
We will see how this one goes. Woodley would be wise to accept the match fast, or to be prepared for a downturn in his stock. Now, there is a fine line here that the UFC plays. Woodley, called the ‘Chosen One’ runs the risk of getting called the ‘Choosy one’ if he holds out for opponents he is calling out and turns down matches that the boss says will advance his career.
But, in lieu of White’s recent nomination as one of the top sleaziest figures in all of sports (he was 8th), why is White putting this out there so publicly? It seems like a set up to make Woodley look bad if he doesn’t want the match that Dana wants for him. It is a vague area in the UFC as to who will face who, and who can accept or turn down fights, and it is a constantly changing playing field, depending on the whims of White. If Woodley is not giving you an answer fast enough, it holds back the company’s plans, and obviously White is at the helm of a massive ship, but by mentioning it in the press, White sets Woodley up for questions that he can’t look good answering. Why do that?
As far as the match is concerned, look for Lombard to be a slight favorite heading in. As good as Woodley is, he has at times looked like he lacks that extra dimension, while Lombard has been a juggernaut since arriving at welterweight.
