Woodley Knows Thompson Can Beat Him
Stephen Thompson did not waste any time calling out Woodley, and Woodley did not waste anytime blowing him off and looking for a bigger money fight. Woodley made it quite clear he wanted a more marketable fight with either a returning Georges St. Pierre or the recently suspended Nick Diaz. Dana White has now made it clear that Woodley will be facing Thompson first, and that Nick Diaz would have to get to the back of the line in terms of a title shot. White has previously stated that GSP doesn’t want to fight (what a promoter normally says when a fighter is asking for more money than they want to pay), so it appears he will be ignoring that request by Woodley for the time being.
Woodley is being very strategic in looking to get that big money now, but it also reflects what must be an underlying feeling within him that he needs to get that big money fight now because he knows there are others in the division, such as Thompson, who can beat him. A confident champion wants to face the best challenger, a nervous champion wants to cash-in as soon as possible.
On the other hand being a confident champion has backfired for fighters in the past. Holly Holm’s decision to keep fighting instead of waiting for the big-money fight certainly backfired for her financially. Perhaps Woodley is worried about something similar happening to him.
