Former Strikeforce welterweight title challenger Tyron Woodley made his UFC debut with an exclamation point Saturday, knocking out veteran Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds at UFC 156.
Many pundits wondered if “T-Wood,” a former two-time All-American wrestler in college, could handle Hieron’s grappling chops. The question remains unanswered, but that’s because Woodley disposed of his opponent in a quick, spectacular fashion.
In an interview with Sherdog’s Beatdown Radio Show, Woodley expressed his desire to fight welterweight contender Rory MacDonald.
“I want to fight (Rory MacDonald). If anything happens with Carlos Condit, God forbid, or something happens with that fight, I already told Dana White.”
“Nobody's calling him out for a reason, because he's freaking unreal. But if you wait, you think he's going to stop getting better? In two years, this kid's probably going to be one of the best fighters in the game.”
MacDonald, who rematches Condit at UFC 158 next month, is on a four-fight winning streak, most recently easily dispatching of UFC legend BJ Penn at UFC on FOX 5 in September.
Condit is the only man to defeat “Ares” in his 15-fight career, scoring a brutal TKO victory at UFC 115 in June 2010 after soundly losing the first two rounds of the match up.
Woodley also spoke about fellow top 10 welterweight Demian Maia, who easily out-grappled Jon Fitch at UFC 156.
“Everybody's been Tweeting about [Demian Maia]. I don't mind the fight. If he fights me the way he fought Fitch, then it's not that dangerous of a fight.”
“He just took him down and jumped on his back. I think Demian Maia’s tough. He just didn't really impress me very much. I think if you match us up, it's going to be a boring fight and we're both going to get hella flak.”
If MacDonald isn’t available, Woodley would like to take on Nick Diaz or Condit, stating the aforementioned athletes would “make me fight harder.”
Does Woodley deserve a shot at a top contender after a very impressive UFC debut or is he still a big win or two away from being “in the mix?”