UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (pictured) and UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor aren’t fighting each other tomorrow at UFC 205, but the newfound enemies have just laid down the groundwork for a future showdown.
It all started during Thursday’s UFC 205 pre-fight press conference when McGregor was asked to clarify if he intended on capturing not just Eddie Alvarez’s lightweight belt, but also Woodley’s welterweight crown when it was all said and done.
“I think he was talking about Eddie’s belt,” Woodley said.
“All of the belts!” McGregor responded.
“Hey, we punching with way different power in this division. Pack a lunch, brotha,” Woodley responded.
While the brief exchanged drew some oohs and awes from the audience, most merely took it as two anxious fighters who were just days away from the biggest bouts of their life on Broadway.
That was until Friday’s weigh-ins. McGregor had just tipped the scale as Woodley walked past him. McGregor was mean mugging Woodley, but the 170-pound king paid the laser eyes McGregor was shooting him no attention.
Woodley killed the tension with a friendly, “Conor, what’s up?” McGregor seemed to instantly calm down and returned a “What’s up?” of his own. It was awkward, but everything appeared fine as they each went about their business:
All good then, right?
Yeah, about that…
@arielhelwani I said what's up then he tried to flex. Quickly he realized it was a NO FLEX ZONE💪🏼🚫Pretty much made him say what's up! JS
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) November 11, 2016
@TWooodley @arielhelwani Twitter bitch you'll do nothing
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 11, 2016
@TheNotoriousMMA Dude Im not them guys u deal w Homie! I'll forget the fight 💩 & go Ferguson! Focus on Eddie & never call me a Bitch again.
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) November 11, 2016
@TWooodley bitch
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 11, 2016
Woodley opens for McGregor tomorrow night when he puts his title on the line against Stephen Thompson. McGregor closes the show by challenging Alvarez for his hardware. If McGregor is victorious, he will be come the first UFC fighter to ever simultaneously hold two belts.
UFC 205 goes down inside Madison Square Garden in New York.