White: 'Drama queen' Woodley not booed because he's black

Any flack Tyron Woodley has fielded in his brief reign as welterweight champion, he asked for - at least as far as Dana White is concerned.

Responding to Woodley's recent claims he'd be treated far more favorably by fight fans if it weren't for his melanin, White said on ESPN Radio’s Russell and Kanell the welterweight king has his knack for the melodramatic to blame for the criticisms he's accrued since winning the title from Robbie Lawler last July.

"He’s a smart guy, he’s a good-looking kid," White said, according to MMA Fighting. "He’s explosive. He’s got knockout power. But he’s a bit of a drama queen."

The UFC president chalked up Woodley's tarnished public image to his penchant for taking his detractors to task on social media and an apparent reluctance to face his division's top contenders.

"That’s not what people want to hear. People don’t want to hear that. And then what he does is he’ll start fighting and arguing with people on social media. Then he wonders why when we show up to a press conference, the whole crowd is booing him. They’re not booing him because he’s black. There’s tons of black guys fighting in the UFC, you know what I mean?"

White said if "The Chosen One" took a cue from Conor McGregor and dialed up his gamesmanship, he'd be a "massive star." The UFC boss doubled down on his diagnosis when speaking with TSN's Cari Champion, stating all Woodley had to do restore the public's faith in him was take on whatever comers the promotion threw his way as opposed to angling for superfights with the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping.

"If Tyron Woodley would just buckle down, train, and come out and fight, then he'd be one of the most loved champions in the UFC.

"When certain fights are talked about, that are gonna be made, it sounds like he's trying to get out of those fights instead of accept those fights and say 'alright, this is my next fight. I'm looking forward to it. I'm gonna come out and I'm gonna do this and that.' He does the exact opposite."

When asked if the champ was right to believe the scrutiny he's fielded might be racially motivated, White issued a brief, dismissive response.

"That's 100-percent false. It's crazy talk. It's absolute crazy talk."