UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley is defending the gold against Darren Till in the main event of UFC 228.
Kamaru Usman has been tapped as a replacement if either fighter cannot compete at the event, but Woodley says he is either fighting Till and nobody else at the event.
“It’s Till or no fight at all,” Woodley said at a UFC 228 media day. “I don’t even know why they did that.”
If the welterweight title bout were pulled from UFC 228 for any reason, it would make a bout between UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko as the UFC 228 main event.
Woodley is willing to fight Usman, but would like a full training camp before that happens.
“Would I fight Usman? Yeah, I would fight Usman,” he said. “I would fight Usman on a full training camp. I’ll fight anybody on a full training camp. But I’m not that guy. This is not a circus to me. You’re not going to have me prepare for a 6-(foot)-3 striker southpaw, and then 24 hours before the fight, because this (expletive) missed weight and he’s unprofessional, now I’ve got to fight a 5-10 switch-stance wrestler. No – you’re not going to waste my time. You’re not going to waste my money that I forked into training camps. You’re not going to add this one crazy variable and make me feel like I’m the punk, or I’m the pansy, for not taking the fight. No. It’s not going to happen. So if he’s making money for making weight, congratulations. You got a couple of free bags. But when it comes down to the fight, Sept. 8, I’m fighting Darren Till. If he makes weight, he makes weight. If he doesn’t make weight, it’s not going to mentally disturb me.”
UFC 228 takes place on Saturday, September 8 from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas with Tyron Woodley and Darren Till headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
