It's still going to be a bit before Tyron Woodley is back to fighting form, but he's already eyeing the matchup he wants when he returns to action inside the Octagon.
"The Chosen One" is in the process of rehabilitating a foot injury suffered during his split-decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 183 back in January. The former wrestling standout from the University of Missouri broke his right foot in several places in the opening round of the bout and battled through to edge out Gastelum on the judges' scorecards. His victory over The Ultimate Fighter winner was the fourth time in his past five outings where he emerged from the fray with his hand raised.
The 33-year-old St. Louis-based fighter's win in Las Vegas made it two straight in the heated ranks of the UFC's welterweight division, and he's eager to keep his push toward the top rolling once he's medically cleared to return. In order to do that the American Top Team representative is going to need a high-profile opponent, and he believes Johny Hendricks would be the ideal option.
The former welterweight champion defeated Matt Brown via unanimous decision at UFC 185 in his first bout since dropping the title to Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 back in December. "Bigg Rigg" has been vocal about wanting to get another shot to reclaim the belt he once held, but with Rory MacDonald set to face "Ruthless" at UFC 189 on July 11, that leaves a stretch of time where the Texas transplant could very well take another fight.
Should that come to pass, Woodley wants to be first in line to tangle with Hendricks. The two fighters crossed paths on Saturday night backstage at UFC on Fox 15, and Woodley admitted he wouldn't be opposed to seeing a matchup with Hendricks come to fruition. Although he has the utmost respect for the former welterweight champion, the surging contender has goals of his own to accomplish.
"I'm not against that fight at all," Woodley told Bleacher Report in regard to a potential bout with Hendricks. "Johny knows I respect him and he respects me. We talked about this fight at the UFC's 20th anniversary, and he was like, 'Man, you are coming for me next.' I told him I'm not really coming for anybody. I'm coming for that world title and to be the best in the world. A lot of guys want that title shot, but I want the opportunity to prove I'm the best fighter in the world because I believe I am.
"I believe I'm the strongest and the fastest. I also believe I'm a well-rounded fighter. I don't know if this fight fits in his time plan, or it is what he has in his plans for his future, but it's the fight I want. It's nothing personal. It's not like I'm calling him out because I don't like him. Johny knows how I feel about him, but he is the person that can get me to that title. And that's what I want."
While there is no timeline set for Woodley's return to action, the welterweight contender is making visible gains where his recovery is concerned. On Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey, Woodley was holding court for the MMA media in attendance, and a plastic walking cast replaced the hard cast he had been wearing post-surgery. He appeared to move around with minimal discomfort.
That said, Woodley's work ethic has put him back into the gym as well. While there are a lot of MMA training techniques the restrictive cast won't allow him to do, the Missouri native has found ways to improvise around the situation in order to remain active.
He understands there will be certain physical limitations he has to face due to current circumstances, but Woodley is determined to keep his fighting edge finally tuned during his recovery.
"I had to have surgery on my foot," Woodley explained. "I think it's because I walked like two miles on my foot while it was broken, and I didn't know it so the bones were displaced. Basically there was one bone sitting on top of another one. Had it not been that way it would have healed properly, but they didn't want it to calcify. If I had bumps on top and bottom I would be walking around feeling like I have rocks in my shoes. They put pins in both of the metatarsals that were broken. I had those in for six weeks, and then I came out of the cast after that.
"Just because I have this injury doesn't stop me from staying in shape. I wanted to keep active because I wasn't going to be sitting around on my butt just getting huge. I did gain a few pounds, but I never cracked the 200 mark. I posted one video of me hitting the heavy bag, and all of these companies started sending me different devices. They sent me these rollers, scooters and prosthetic looking attachments, and I thought that was very encouraging. I've been boxing and doing a lot of upper-body work to maintain my strength and to make sure I can go out there and do five hard rounds."
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
