Morning Report: Tyron Woodley thinks Georges St-Pierre doesn’t want to fight him

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre might be back, but current champion Tyron Woodley says it’s not because he wants to get his old belt back.

Speaking with ESPN recently, the current champion says suggested that St-Pierre will avoid him by taking fights outside of the welterweight division because he is the most difficult match up for St-Pierre.

"Let's not get it twisted, part of the reason he left the sport was concussions,” said Woodley. “He doesn't seem to be extremely thrilled to get in there with somebody that can punch him to the point of getting dropped and suffering a concussion - an ugly, grueling fight.

"I'm a guy who makes that fight for him. I have the highest takedown defense in the entire welterweight division, maybe the second-highest on the UFC roster. It's going to be very hard for him to take me down and keep me down."

Woodley is set to defend his welterweight title against number one contender Stephen Thompson this weekend in the main event of UFC 209. The fight is a rematch of their controversial draw at UFC 205 last year. And though Woodley expects to retain his belt on Saturday, he says that St-Pierre is hoping he won’t because St-Pierre would be willing to fight Thompson because “Wonderboy” doesn’t pose the same threat for St-Pierre that Woodley does.

"I think they want to see how this fight plays out. If 'Wonderboy' comes up with a victory, I think we'll see him try to fight 'Wonderboy.'

"[Thompson] has a crazy style and he has knocked guys out, but how many times has he stood in the pocket and just thrown heavy leather [and] let them damn UFC gloves fly and knock somebody out? Never."

No official decision has been made as to who St-Pierre will face in his return to the promotion but speculation has been rampant. UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has spoken some about the potential fight and, perhaps as a result, has emerged as the favorite to face the welterweight GOAT. There has, however, been ample discussion for other fighters, including former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, and current lightweight champion Conor McGregor. St-Pierre’s own coach, Firas Zahabi, even stated that he would like to see St-Pierre return for an “epic” fight with either Bisping or McGregor. But for Woodley, these possibilities are just a way for St-Pierre to accept easier fights rather than returning to fight for the belt he never lost.

"A smaller guy like [lightweight champion] Conor McGregor or a heavier guy like [middleweight champion] Michael Bisping who we all know is an overachiever in that division.

"Bisping knows he's not the best middleweight. He's just a guy who is tough, seized his moment and became the champion of the world. There's nothing bad about that, but those are way better options for [St-Pierre] than fighting somebody like me, who has been looking at him for many years, is a better wrestler, punches harder and has been more active in the last three years."

Woodley has been angling for a fight with St-Pierre since winning the title at UFC 201 with a spectacular knockout of Robbie Lawler. However, with both Thompson and Demian Maia riding substantial winning streaks in the division giving both legitimate cases for title shots, potential superfights had to take a back seat. But with his business with “Wonderboy” nearly concluded, and Maia now being made to fight Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211, Woodley may finally have the window to get the fight he really wants.

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MUST-READ STORIES

Rejected. The NYSAC denied Holly Holm’s appeal of her UFC 208 loss.

Big. Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks his fight with Tony Ferguson is the biggest lightweight fight in UFC history.

Response. Tyron Woodley reponds to Dana White calling him a “drama queen.”

Loyalty. Artem Lobov thinks Conor McGregor stops Floyd Mayweather Jr. before the seventh round.

Rampage. Derrick Lewis is looking higher than a fight with Francis Ngannou.

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MEDIA STEW

Embedded 2.

A long Rory MacDonald interview.

TMZ has a ton of new MMA related vids.

Buffer on The Oscars fiasco and how he can relate.

Thompson calling boxing dead.

Yet another person saying MayGregor will happen.

Mayweather Sr. talking about Floyd’s age not being a factor and that he’d win quickly.

The Reem.

TTTHS.

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LISTEN UP

Jack Slack.

Severe MMA.

Beatdown.

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TWEETS

The UFC should give Khabib a FightPass show just reviewing American pop culture.

Masvidal.

Garbrandt’s insistence about not releasing the video is odd.

T-Wood did a Twitter Q & A.

Main event.

I often forget how small Iron Mike was as a heavy.

Dom giving props.

Brutal Bob looking to get back it seems.

Diego is an intense dude.

The great conundrum of our time.

Hate to say it, but #wouldwatch.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rafael Carvalho (13-1) vs. Melvin Manhoef (30-13-1, 2 NC); Bellator 176, April 8.

Tom Duquesnoy (13-1, 1 NC) vs. Patrick Williams (8-4); UFC on Fox 24, April 14.

John Dodson (18-8) vs. Eddie Wineland (23-11-1); UFC Fight Night: Nashville, April 22.

Demian Maia (24-6) vs. Jorge Masvidal (32-11); UFC 211, May 13.

Jack Hermansson (14-3) vs. Alex Nicholson (7-3); UFC Fight Night: Stockholm, May 28.

Magnus Cedenblad (14-5) vs. Chris Camozzi (24-12); UFC Fight Night: Stockholm, May 28.

Damian Grabowski (20-4) vs. Christian Colombo (8-2-1); UFC Fight Night: Stockholm, May 28.

Claudia Gadelha (14-2) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-1); UFC 212, June 3.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2008: At UFC 82, Anderson Silva submitted Dan Henderson to retain the UFC middleweight championship and, kind of, unify it with the Pride welterweight title.

2009: Mike Brown submitted Leonard Garcia at WEC 39 to retain the WEC featherweight title.

2014: Dong Hyun Kim defeated John Hathaway with an awesome spinning back elbow in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter China Finale.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The latest addition to the ongoing series, “Not MMA related but quite delightful,” is a my new favorite photo.

If the MR had a flag, this would be it.

Happy March everyone. The best event of the year so far is fast approaching. Hope y’all have a good one and see everyone tomorrow!

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