Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is adamant he will continue his MMA career. Following his recent TKO loss to his rival Colby Covington, fans and peers felt Woodley should retire. Woodley has announced despite his recent performances that he will fight again in the UFC. In an Instagram live video transcribed by MMA Fighting.com Woodley shared his thoughts on his future.
“I’m not retiring – I’m not giving it up. I’m not switching all my coaches up. I’m not changing the continent I live on. I’m not doing all that.” Woodley also expresses confusion as to why he wasn’t able to perform the way he hoped. “Some sh*t didn’t happen and guess what? I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I did everything to make it happen. Now we just take a deep breath and see what’s next.”
At 38 years old, Woodley is at the crossroads of his career. Woodley is on a three-fight losing streak. This is the first time in his career that he has lost three fights in a row. To add to his tough losses, he has been dominated in each fight. Woodley has lost to Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision in which he was outperformed. Covington controlled his fight against Woodley until he won by TKO via rib injury. Woodley didn’t win a round against all three opponents on the judge’s scorecard.
Despite Woodley’s claim that he will fight again, UFC President Dana White feels different. In the post-fight conference transcribed by MMA Fighting, White felt Woodley should retire. “I think that he should start thinking about hanging it up. He’s had a great career, he’s had a great run. He’s made money.” While Woodley is ready to move forward, it remains to be seen if White will persuade Woodley to retire.