Woodley on Race in MMA Talk: "It's About Pointing out Things That Are Not Right"

Tyron Woodley has had a lot of hatred thrown his way over the last week since discussing race in MMA in an interview last week...but he's not taking back anything he's said. Speaking with MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour, the UFC welterweight champion discussed the reactions from fans and fighters, and why he brought the topic up at all.

"It's not about black and white," Woodley said (h/t MMAFighting.com's Marc Raimondi for the transcription). "It's about pointing out things that are not right, that are unjust. Things that are not equal. Nobody should be treated any type of way because of their color, their race, their gender, their socioeconomic status. We’re all human."

The talk surrounding Woodley stems from a powerful interview last week on ESPN's SportsCenter, where he made bold accusations of mistreatment by the UFC and the MMA world as a whole. "Let's put the cards on the table," said Woodley (h/t ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto for the transcription). "Real is real. If I was a different complexion, I think people and fans would treat me a different way."

He went on to discuss (in the ESPN interview) the differences in pay and how the UFC portrays its African-American fighters. "Who's the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now? Demetrious Johnson...Why is he not making the most money," he asked. "The second Jon Jones slips on a banana peel, granted he's his own worst enemy, but they can't wait to throw him under the bus."

The statements have garnered a variety of reactions across social media and started a wider discussion on how the UFC treats its champions and whether race plays a factor. Unfortunately, a firestorm on social media, with many accusing Woodley of "race-baiting" and "playing the race card," has hijacked much of the discussion. 

That hasn't changed Woodley's willingness to shine a light on this topic and, just as importantly, doesn't impact the veracity of his statements. "This is a sensitive subject," Woodley told Helwani. "A lot of people aren't gonna like it. I can explain until I'm blue in the face, some people still would never agree with me. They would still think that I’m playing the victim."

He continued on later: "I think what we have is, is individuals who have not participated and individuals who have not done it themselves. Since they have not, they feel like it’s not happening."

Woodley acknowledged that the UFC has reached out to him in an effort to make things right after he pointedly said that he is the worst-treated UFC champion ever. Either way, he will rematch Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson in the main event of UFC 209.

This larger discussion, however, has added some long-term importance to the bout.

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