MMA News

Tag: UFC 235

  • Archives: Covington Details UFC 235 Run-In With ‘B*tch’ Nate Diaz (2019)

    The following article featuring UFC 272 headliner Colby Covington was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    On This Day Three Years Ago…

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 6, 2019, 9:22 AM]

    Colby Covington wasn’t even competing at UFC 235 over the weekend but was still one of the event’s biggest stories. “Chaos” had confrontations with the likes of UFC President Dana White, Kamau Usman, NFL star Todd Gurley, and more. However, it sounds like he also had a brief run-in with UFC mega-star Nate Diaz.

    Speaking to “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show”, Covington said the Stockton native flipped him the bird while passing by cageside (via MMA Mania):

    “Our skill level is way apart from each other. He’s a bottom feeder,” said Covington. “It was funny because he walked by me and he said, ‘F*ck you Colby.’ And he flipped me off when I was sitting front row and he walked by cageside. It’s just funny. keep that energy Nate. If you’re so tough, let’s see it inside the cage, b*tch.”

    Diaz hasn’t fought since his 2016 rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202. He was briefly scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230, but an injury to “The Diamond” forced that fight off. Now, Diaz’s return to the Octagon remains up in the air.

    After Usman was crowned the new king of the UFC’s welterweight division, Covington is expected to get the next crack at the title. A key reason for Covington’s ruckus all weekend was his lobbying for a title opportunity. It looks like all the self-promotion finally paid off.

    What do you think about Covington’s comments regarding his run-in with Diaz?

  • (Archives) Woodley: I’m (Still) Better Than Usman At Everything (2019)

    Before UFC 235, Tyron Woodley told the world he was better than Kamaru Usman in every department. At UFC 235, Kamaru Usman soundly dominated Tyron Woodley via a unanimous decision victory. After UFC 235, Tyron Woodley still believed he was better than Kamaru Usman in every department.

    The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    On This Day Three Years Ago…

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 5, 2019, 9:03 AM]

    Kamaru Usman proved a lot of doubters wrong this past Saturday at UFC 235, but Tyron Woodley is not one of them.

    That is because Tyron Woodley does not believe he was wrong.

    In his comments leading up to his welterweight title defense against Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley claimed that Usman was not better at him in any aspect of fighting. In spite of losing 50-44, 50-44, 50-45, and in spite of being outstruck 336-60 and outgrappled throughout the contest in all positions, Tyron Woodley still feels the same way about his skill set in comparison to Kamaru Usman and doubled down on the comments he made prior to UFC 235:

    “No, I still feel the same way,” Woodley said in a recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show.” “I still feel the same way. And that wasn’t a knock. It’s just reality. It’s just reality that when it comes to the strike game, when it comes to wrestling, when it comes to anything explosive and extravagant, I’m better at those things. I just didn’t do it that night.

    “And that doesn’t mean I veer away from what I said. I still mean that, and I still think that when I rematch Kamaru Usman, when I get back the Tyron that was out there in the Octagon, I think we’ll see what I’m saying.”

    Unfortunately for Tyron Woodley, Dana White has vocalized that Colby Covington will receive the next world title opportunity. It is not yet known if Tyron Woodley will elect to take another opponent in the meantime or continue to bide his time waiting to role-reverse with Kamaru Usman by proving any doubters of his assessment wrong.

    Do you think Tyron Woodley is justified in stating he is better at Kamaru Usman at everything after UFC 235?

  • Archives: Woodley Reveals How He Lost $10,000 Waiting On USADA (2019)

    The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    On This Day Three Years Ago…

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 26, 2019, 1:12 PM]

    Headline: Tyron Woodley Reveals How He Lost $10,000 Waiting On A Random USADA Drug Test

    Author: Damon Martin

    UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has always been proud to compete as a clean athlete, which is why he fully supports the random drug testing done by USADA.

    As the enforcers of the UFC’s anti-doping policy, USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) is in charge of randomly testing fighters at any time, place or occasion without much notice before making an appearance to draw blood or urine.

    Woodley has always tested clean throughout his career while remaining one of the most tested athletes on the UFC roster. He was even given an award for a consecutive streak of clean tests under the UFC’s anti-doping policy.

    Unfortunately, Woodley found out just how random the testing can be earlier this year when he received a call to submit a sample while he was traveling to Atlanta to take part in the Super Bowl festivities ahead of the game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.

    “They tested me Super Bowl weekend, the lady came to me, bless her soul, cause I said a few unchoice words to her with respect. She came to test me at 12 a.m. on Super Bowl weekend knowing the reason I was in Atlanta was probably for Super Bowl and I had some appearances that I was supposed to be at,” Woodley revealed during a media luncheon ahead of UFC 235.

    “I had an event with Devonte Freeman and Meek Mill I was supposed to be at. An event with Ludacris and Snoop Dogg and I was in the hotel waiting on her to come in 45-minutes of traffic to test me. So she tested me around 1 a.m. and I missed those events.”

    According to Woodley, he asked the person sent to collect his sample if there was any way this could be done in the morning so he wouldn’t miss his appearances but that was not allowed.

    Woodley then revealed that the tester told him she couldn’t make it to collect his sample earlier because she had an event of her own that couldn’t be missed.

    “I said I have an event I have to go to that I’m missing money because I’m supposed to be there,” Woodley said. “She said ‘well I can meet you there’, I said ‘no, you can’t get in, you can’t be on the list’.

    “So I had to wait there and she tested me at 1 a.m. and I was not happy.”

    Because the person collecting his sample was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes, Woodley had to wait in his hotel for over an hour until she arrived to test him.

    Woodley ultimately missed his events that night and according to the reigning welterweight champion it cost him a hefty paycheck.

    “[I lost] about $10,000,” Woodley revealed. “So USADA I’m not happy right now.”