Tyron Woodley explains not wanting to take Kelvin Gastelum's money for missing weight

Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley surprised many UFC 183 pay-per-view viewers when, following his split-decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum, he said that he didn’t want to take the 30 percent of Gastelum’s purse to which he was entitled.

Woodley’s post-fight check was to include that extra bit of pay as a commission-assessed penalty for Gastelum weighing in nine pounds over the 171-pound welterweight limit during Friday’s weigh-ins.

Woodley (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) cited the cost of training camp and recalled days of crying at his table because he was broke as the reasons he didn’t want to take the money from the 23-year-old Gastelum (10-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC).

He was asked about the statements during Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“When they told me initially, I was pissed off,” Woodley said. “I said some words that (UFC President) Dana (White) and a million other people probably have never heard me say. I’m pretty quiet It’s just tough going through training camp, especially for me. I change a lot of things in my life, my diet – I’m not a small welterweight, myself. I’m a big guy for the welterweight division. So for me to be able to make those lifestyle changes and take it as a professional, I was just a little annoyed.”

Woodley then expanded on how he had to just move past the annoyance of the situation and how he’s sure Gastelum has gotten an earful from a number of people already.

“I just kind of swept it under the rug,” Woodley said. “The kid lost, had his first loss. He’s not going to get his win bonus. Dana White has probably yelled at him. His coach has probably yelled at him. He’s probably pissed off about himself. So I just can’t find it in my heart to do that right now. But, I got the win, I had a good performance, and I feel good about it.”

Woodley added later in the press conference that he told Gastelum that he was more upset with the situation than his opponent.

“It just looked like he had a cinderblock dropped on top of his head, and I just wanted to let him know … this is a sport to me,” he said. “I don’t have to hate the person to try to knock them out. That’s a part of the fight game. I just let him know that I was frustrated with the situation.”

White also chimed in and explained the tough situation that Woodley was in.

“(On Friday), when he and I were talking, I’ve got know if there’s a fight,” White said. “Are you accepting him with the 10-pound difference? And, he’s saying, ‘I feel like this thing is coming down on me now, like I’m in trouble or you’re acting like I did something wrong.’ Which I wasn’t. I’m asking if he wants to fight or not. But he’s right. He’s right in that, now he has to make a decision whether he wants to fight a kid who weighs 10 pounds more than him on the day of the weigh-in.”

White also recognized the risk that comes with accepting the fight in a less-than-perfect situation.

“Everything is on the line; his position where he is and everything else,” White said. “And, that’s one of these tough things that these guys come in and they have to pull the trigger. ‘Did I just do this whole camp, and do I not want to fight and not make money and just go home?’”

“It’s a tough decision to make,” White added. “I understand the position he was in, and I respect him for taking the fight.”

For more on UFC 183, check out the UFC Events section of the site.