Colby Covington responds to Tyron Woodley dismissing RAF matchup

Colby Covington isn't going to lose any sleep over Tyron Woodley's recent dismissal of him.

Covington and Woodley, who fought in the UFC many years ago, were linked again now that Woodley debuted and is now competing for Real American Freestyle (RAF) – the wrestling promotion where Covington is champion. To many, including Covington himself, the match with Woodle`y was a no-brainer given their past history and wrestling background. However, Woodley was recently asked if he'd like to run it back with Covington on the wrestling mats, and the former UFC welterweight champion rejected the idea.

"If I were him, I wouldn't want to revisit the past either," Covington told MMA Junkie in response to Woodley. "I wouldn't want to go back to the ambulance taking me out in a stretcher; just like I told him when we fought in the UFC. I said, 'Bro, you're going out on a stretcher, man. You're all talk.' There hasn't been a more delusional man in the existence of MMA and like fighting than Tyron Woodley. That guy is so delusional, so dumb. I don't care. I don't need Tyron Woodley. I've already finished my business with him. I left him in a stretcher, you know, just like I told him. I was going to break his rib; I was going to snap his spirit, and I was going to send him out on a stretcher, and that's exactly what I did. Promises made, promises kept. I'm a man of my word. He's not a man of his word. He's all talk, but it's all good, man. I don't need Tyron Woodley."

Woodley vs. Covington would certainly be a big matchup for RAF. Covington doesn't disagree with the potential magnitude of the matchup, but he also feels he's got many options in hand – which makes Woodley's comments less consequential.

"I don't need him," Covington said. "I have tons of other guys on the list that are ready to compete against me in RAF. Everybody's calling my name. That's the beauty of being the champ, everybody wants a shot at the champ. So, you know, we might be having Justin (Gaethje) coming over soon. I heard a little birdie say he wants to wrestle. He's a great All-American wrestler, so he might want to come take a shot at America's champ. Usman's going to come over eventually once he gets healed up from the last beating he took to Dricus (Du Plessis). Gilbert Burns is an interesting guy; we need to cross paths and settle this beef. We've had a longstanding little rivalry going with him being from Brazil and me being from America, so we're going to settle that business. There's a long list, you know. Maybe a Sean Brady. He's in the mix potentially. If he gets a win, he can potentially get a title shot. So I don't need Tyron Woodley."

Covington won the inaugural RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship with a points win over Arman Tsarukyan in July. He's 4-0 competing under the RAF banner and is set to make his first title defense against Belal Muhammad on Sept. 19 in the main event of RAF 13 in Miami.

Covington's focus is on defending the belt. Should Woodley ever want a crack at it, Covington is more than happy to welcome the matchup despite Woodley's dismissive comments.

"If he wants to keep making small paychecks and half his paychecks, he can do that, but if he wants to come go against a star and the face of the company and the champ, I'm willing to entertain it just because I want to put on the biggest and best matchups we can make," Covington said. "He is a former All-American wrestler, so he's worthy of getting an opportunity at this belt. Yeah, he definitely has legit credentials."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Colby Covington responds to Tyron Woodley dismissing RAF matchup