Woodley: 'If I had to bet the house on it,' Nate Diaz will be next opponent
The leading candidate to face Tyron Woodley next doesn't call the welterweight division home - so says the reigning champ, at least.
Speaking with ESPN's Brett Okamoto after regaining range of motion in his surgically repaired shoulder this week, Woodley said a matchup with Nate Diaz, while deemed little more than a long shot to headline UFC 219 in December, isn't outside the realm of possibility once he's fully recovered later this year.
"I think that fight will happen," Woodley said. "I think it will happen this year. I think it's way more likely than people realize. There are conversations about Nate and I fighting in July. The UFC has offered Nate that fight. They just have to make it worth his while.
"I think I'll fight Nate this year, and I think it will be my return to the Octagon. If I had to bet the house on it, that's my next opponent."
Diaz hasn't taken to the Octagon since dropping a razor-close rematch to Conor McGregor at UFC 202 in August 2016, but recently teased a return to action and told the LA Times' Lance Pugmire he was open to headlining next month's UFC 222 - which remains without a main event just four weeks out.
Given the card's proximity and his recent surgery, Woodley ruled out facing Diaz on March 3, but wasn't opposed to meeting the Stockton scrapper in a non-title bout.
"In four weeks? No. I wouldn't fight him," Woodley said. "If we're fighting, I'm pretty sure it would have to be for my belt. Now, if they want me to fight him at a catchweight, not a title fight, I'm gonna have to drop to my knees and make a prayer to the most high for something like that.
"At this point in my career, if it's a fight that's not for my belt, I'm willing to step out of the box and do some different things."
Diaz, 32, has competed primarily at lightweight, although his days of fighting at 155 pounds appear to be over, according to Pugmire. He reportedly shut down the idea of facing former champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 222, with president Dana White reiterating to Pugmire that Diaz's talk of returning is just that and nothing more.
Still, Woodley remains confident he'll be sharing the cage with Diaz this summer, despite previously acknowledging Rafael dos Anjos has gained pole position as the challenger-in-waiting to his throne.
"I just want to do something that's going to push me forward career-wise or push my legacy. I need both. I need super fights and I need to continue to knock off these rising contenders. I've been fighting the best of the best since Strikeforce. It's not like I'm asking for anything that I haven't paid my dues for. I had to earn this position the hard way."