Back in November, Conor McGregor and UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley had to be separated after a confrontation at the weigh-in for UFC 205. While pre-fight theatrics are nothing new for McGregor, the staredown spilled over into the Twitterverse after the Irishman took an opportunity two opportunities to call Woodley a "bitch" for all to see. Here's a very succinct summary from the fighters themselves:
Fast forward a month and Woodley is still the welterweight champ (though not without some confusion first), and he also elaborated on what he'd do to McGregor if he were to actually try and climb the weight ladder in an effort take his belt from him.
"When he got in my face and I looked at him I said, 'What's up?,' at that moment he realized I ain't that dude," Woodley said on a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday. "I'm really about that life. I'm really from that life. My family is from that life. I'm actually one of the sharper tools in the box that haven't been in the streets like that, but I have family members, close loved ones, that that's all they know. So I've been around that a lot and I try not to take myself back to those dark areas, I try to stay sophisticated, stay professional, but a few people can take you out of that element and bring that Ferguson back out of you and he almost did it."
Woodley went on to warn McGregor about his lofty ambition to hold "all the belts," as he made it clear that the guys in the UFC's higher weight classes don't mess around. "Now that we got that done—that's off the table—if Conor want it he can get it. He knows how to get in touch with Dana [White]," Woodley said. "He knows how to get the contract set, and he really don't want to fight. I'm not saying he should want to fight because I'm not a little dude. I ain't Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz is not a welterweight. He did not do well at welterweight because he was undersized and these dudes are real gorillas in this weight class."
For reference, both of McGregor's welterweight fights have been against Diaz, with Diaz winning the first before McGregor claimed the second.
Continuing on that theme, Woodley said:
"If him and his coach John Kavanagh and everybody think that Conor can do well against me and they gas this dude up—you know, he's a dope fighter but there's levels to this. When you start going up, it's like me going up to 205 and challenging guys at that weight. When you come up to this weight brother, it's real power, it's real people that will put real hands on you, that'll put you down to the canvas and you will not get up unless I let you up.
"So if you want to get in there with a lion and get your head bit off and have me spewing your blood all over the Octagon while you've got that goofy tiger tattoo on your chest, looking like a clown with a clown on your chest, we can do it. We can do it in Ireland, Dublin, we can do it in the back of White Castle, I don't care. But just know, I ain't that guy. I don't like to try and act overly hood or overly ghetto, a million hood stripes, but where I'm from, you don't call me a bitch, number one. Number two, you don't fake like you're about that life. If you want to scrap, if you want to make this money, let's do it. If you don't, shut your mouth. Just do your thing."
While Woodley made it clear that he's "not trying to position myself off Conor," he also said that he's one of the few guys who can't let that "BS" (see: being called a "bitch" on social media) slide.
You can watch the entire clip below:
