Woodley, Covington open to UFC 249 clash
Count Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington among the fighters willing to save UFC 249 on April 18.
The pay-per-view card's headliner, Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Tony Ferguson, is in jeopardy. The lightweight champion returned to Russia to complete his training camp, but he's now stranded in his home country due to the coronavirus pandemic and a subsequent travel ban.
Covington, a former interim welterweight champion, expressed interest Monday in facing off with Woodley.
The offer still stands @ufc. I’ll go full Teddy Roosevelt & beat the breaks off @TWooodley live from The @WhiteHouse lawn! Save sports and make it free on @ESPN for the people! Im in such a giving mood I’ll even arrange a tour of the oval office for Tyrone, since Obama never did.
— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) March 30, 2020
Woodley, a former 170-pound titleholder, said he's also down to fight on April 18.
@ufc Me vs Qweefington April 18th unless Tony wanna roll back up to his Ultimate Fighter weight for the bag. WW bout won't take no cheese out his LW macaroni.
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) March 30, 2020
Woodley and Covington both used to train at American Top Team but became rivals after going back and forth with each other on social media and in the press. They were expected to fight in 2018 but it never came to fruition.
Covington offered to fight Woodley on short notice at the UFC's March 21 event after it was moved from London to the United States, causing original headliner Leon Edwards to fall off the card. But the promotion was ultimately forced to postpone the event after the CDC recommended gatherings of no more than 10 people.
The UFC reportedly offered top lightweight contender Justin Gaethje as a new matchup for Ferguson, but the fight hasn't been finalized. A new location for UFC 249 - originally slated for Brooklyn - also has yet to be confirmed.