That actually sounds like a pretty good idea.
Tyron Woodley is screaming mad and he's not going to take it anymore.
That's why the hulking welterweight sent a text message to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White, CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva shortly after UFC 185 -- which went down last weekend in Dallas, Texas -- to express to them his disappointment in recent matchmaking.
In Woodley's eyes, he can't find the rhyme or reason as to why Matt Brown has been in back-to-back fights against the No. 1 guys, when his "Immortal" resume doesn't hold a candle to that of the former Strikeforce contender.
During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Tyron talked about his frustration with those fights, as well as the ranking system, and says it's time to get some new blood in the mix.
His words (via MMA Fighting):
"I sent [messages] to [UFC President Dana White] the next morning because I didn't want to bug him. I know it was a long night. Usually it's just Dana. This time [UFC matchmaker] Joe [Silva] got a message. [UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta] got a message. I'm tired of this, man. It's at the point where I don't want to sound like I'm whining and complaining, but why do we have a rankings system? You have a no. five welterweight who's fought back-to-back no. 1 contender fights and has never beaten a top 10 welterweight ever. [Brown] beat Erick Silva and he beat Jordan Mein, which are tough guys. I'm taking nothing from those guys, but they're not top 10. They're not Tarec Saffiedine, Paul Daley, [Josh] Koscheck, Carlos Condit. They're not Dong Hyun Kim, who's beaten Matt Brown. They're not Kelvin Gastelum, who they said will fight for a world title if he beat me. At some point, you gotta realize we're getting tired of these rematches, tired of these trilogies. Johny Hendricks has fought GSP, it was a close fight. When I was there I thought he won, when I re-watched it, I thought GSP won. He fought Robbie [Lawler] in two close fights. I think that we need some new blood. We got these guys like myself and other fighters who are doing what they're supposed to do. How does a no. five ranked fighter fight the no. 1 guy and I don't fight the no. 1 guy?"
Not one to waste an opportunity, Woodley put his Joe Silva hat on and said a fight that makes sense is one against "Bigg Rigg," who defeated the aforementioned Brown at UFC 185 (video highlights).
Not only would it rekindle a rivalry from their college days, but also get him on the fast track to a shot at the title with a win.
"In the meantime, I think Johny should fight me. We got unfinished business from the Big 12 days. I think it's a great style match-up. Two wrestlers with heavy power, beating a lot of top 10 guys. I think that when he made his stake to get to the title, he did the same thing Rory did. They beat all these guys and they deserved the title, but they didn't get it. He finally got his opportunity. Now it's guys like me, who has had some bumps along the road, but I've came back like elastic. You saw me lose to freakin' Jake Shields and I bounced back and I knocked out freakin' Koscheck. I lose to Rory MacDonald. Two months later on short notice I knock out Dong Hyun Kim. Let's be for real. Let's get this going."
After coming up short against Rory MacDonald back at UFC 174, "The Chosen One" reeled of two straight victories over Dong Hyun Kim and Kelvin Gastelum. Unfortunately for Woodley, he suffered a broken foot during his fight with Kelvin at UFC 183, which has him on the sidelines until later this summer.
As he sees it, that timeline fits perfectly with Johny's, as both men could be ready to get back into the Octagon around the same time.
The fight does scream excitement, but what are the chances of it happening?
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