Colby Covington wasn’t ever going to accept anything less than a main event against Tyron Woodley, but he still wants to get his hands on the former UFC welterweight champion.
With the UFC scrambling to put together previous and upcoming cards, Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) offered to step in and face Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) at both UFC on ESPN+ 29, and UFC 249.
But after the promotion booked Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje in the headliner of UFC 249, Covington was no longer interested. He thinks his fight with Woodley is a marquee matchup that deserves a spotlight of its own.
“I’m a main event fighter. I’m not here to play second fiddle,” Covington told Submission Radio. “I’m not a prelim fighter. That’s something Tyron Woodley should fight Dilbert (Gilbert Burns) on. Maybe he can fight Leon Scott (Leon Edwards). These are these people that no one knows who they are, but they’re trying to match you up. I’m trying to give you a gift from God. You can take a big losing paycheck to me, but I’m not a second-fiddle fighter, guys. I don’t fight on the prelims. Me and Tyron Woodley are fighting on the main event.
“When I asked the UFC to fight Tyron Woodley on six days’ notice – cause he’s that big of a (expletive), and I’ll expose him in front of the world on six days’ notice – I want five rounds to do it. I want to talk (expletive) in an empty arena to Tyron Woodley, in his ear the whole time as I expose him in front of the world, and I want to talk (expletive). I want the world to hear, and I want to save sports and save the UFC and do this. But I want a main event.”
UFC president Dana White recently announced that the UFC schedule is set to return to relative stability, starting April 18 with UFC 249. Some subsequent events are expected to take place on a private island that, as of Monday, White was working to secure.
Covington has been training and is in shape, and he likes the idea of facing Woodley on the island.
“I asked for a main event. Now I think a good spot to do it is Dana White’s fight island,” Covington said. “They’re having the fights at the fight island, so there’s some interest there that they’re gonna build this fight back up, and this is the fight that needs to be made – me and Tyron Woodley on Dana White’s fight island.
“I think the most appealing thing to me about it is I can just eliminate Tyron Woodley from earth. We can take him out to this private island, and I’d leave him unconscious in his dead body, and then they can just throw his dead body to the sharks next to the private island, and we can just never hear from him again. The guy’s a complete dirt bag, man. He hates America, he’s a (expletive) communist (expletive). This is the easiest sell ever, man. This is personal between me and Tyron Woodley, and they need to let me get my hands on him locked in that octagon. I promise you it’s going to be (expletive) vicious.”
Colby Covington wants a main event with Tyron Woodley on 'Dana White's fight island'
