Tyron Woodley defends want for money fights, says Stephen Thompson ‘wrote a check his ass couldn’t cash’

Just a few hours into his reign atop the UFC welterweight division, Tyron Woodley already ruffled some feathers in his new role as champion.

Woodley captured the title on Saturday with a stunning first-round knockout over Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, then wasted little time calling out two of the division’s biggest draws — UFC legend Georges St-Pierre and the newly unsuspended Nick Diaz — for his first title defense. One name was curiously left off his list, and that of course was the division’s No. 1 contender Stephen Thompson. However, Woodley reiterated the callouts on Monday, defending his position of wanting a big money fight now that the 34-year-old veteran is finally in a position of leverage.

“I want to say I’m the best in the world,” Woodley said on The MMA Hour. “Right now I’m the UFC welterweight champion of the world. People can say I’m the best in the world, but I’ve fought Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz is not a retired fighter. So, why not compete against Nick Diaz, who is definitely a top-five (fighter)? I feel like his brother is finally cashing in on that big payday, but I do believe Nick Diaz has brought enough attention to the sport, raised enough eyebrows, put enough butts in the seats, sold enough pay-per-view buys. Maybe he deserves — since we’re using this world ‘deserves’ so much — maybe he deserves to cash out, and that’s why I made a suggestion for UFC 202. It’s three weeks away, I’m in great shape, and I know he’s training with his brother getting him ready for his fight.

“Secondly, Georges St-Pierre is the best of all-time. I can say I’m better than Georges, but I’ve not competed against him so I can’t really make that bold statement. If Georges St-Pierre decides that he wants to come back and he’s interested in fighting me, which he is, that’s going to be my No. 1 pick.

“But in hindsight I would like to fight both of them. I would like to prepare myself, get through Georges St-Pierre, shock the world once again, they say that I’m the best in the world, and then after that I would like to fight Nick Diaz as well. Because (after) those two fights, nobody can ever say I’m not one of the …

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