The explosive beef between Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman may heat up again. Just before UFC 322, where Islam Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena, UFC CEO Dana White appeared on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. While there, the 56-year-old hailed ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ as the greatest welterweight in the history of the promotion. He, of course, overlooked a man who many thought was the real welterweight GOAT. 

Well, needless to say, it’s Georges St-Pierre, who defended his title a record nine times. Naturally, Dana White’s declaration was met with scorn, especially thanks to his falling out with St-Pierre. Tyron Woodley, however, has a slightly different theory about why Usman has secured a special place in White’s heart and his welterweight GOAT rankings. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the former welterweight champion held up a mirror to his old rival. 

Kamaru Usman was the biggest brown-noser, says Woodley

“Kamaru is not the greatest welterweight of all time,” Woodley told MMA Fighting. Instead, Woodley, who claims to be well aware of the politics behind the scenes in the UFC, believes Usman rose in Dana White’s GOAT rankings for a very different reason. According to him, Usman earned favor by staying in White’s good books. “But he is… the one [who] kissed the most a—. He’s the one [who’s like,] ‘Oh, let’s have uncle Dana on my podcast.’ Let me accept every fight.”

“Let me go to Vegas and sit and just loiter in his office every week and just try to stay in his good graces and accept whatever offer,” Tyron Woodley added. ‘The Chosen One’ essentially accused Usman of benefiting from the infamous ‘Dana White Privilege,’ the same advantage that has boosted many UFC careers that didn’t necessarily deserve the spotlight. 

“You’ll be rewarded because you took last-minute notice fights, you fought injury, you didn’t complain about money, you didn’t ask for more, you didn’t ask questions, and you always was trying to be goody two-shoe and brown-nosing. So yeah, he’s the biggest brown-noser in the welterweight division,” Woodley said during the interview.

Despite the criticism, Woodley acknowledged Kamaru Usman’s talent but refused to accept that his legacy towers over Georges St-Pierre. “He’s a good fighter. He stayed disciplined, but that’s what he is. He’s not the greatest. Well, how can you even say that? Once you say he’s the greatest, and you’re trying to say he’s better than George, like nobody is even listening to you after that,” he added.

Woodley, of course, defended his welterweight title four times before losing to Usman at UFC 235 in March 2019. He then suffered three consecutive losses before parting ways with the promotion. Since then, ‘The Chosen One’ has not returned to MMA, but has had a couple of boxing matches against Jake Paul, which he lost. He is currently preparing for his boxing match against fellow UFC legend Anderson Silva on December 19, on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua.

Kamaru Usman, on the other hand, has expressed interest in facing Islam Makhachev at welterweight, a matchup Makhachev has also been open to. Whether that fight materializes remains to be seen. Still, if Usman truly has the ‘Dana White Privilege,’ as Woodley alleges, the bout may not be far-fetched. Coming back to Woodley, he went on to reveal his own version of the UFC welterweight GOAT rankings.

Tyron Woodley has him and Usman tied at third

Tyron Woodley isn’t shy about where he believes he stands in the welterweight hierarchy. And he’s putting himself right alongside his former rival. Reflecting on the division’s history, Woodley said, “When you really think about the era they did it, it’s Georges No. 1, I would say it’s Matt Hughes No. 2… We got a chance to sit back and watch those two guys and then kind of carve out our deal. I would say me and Usman are probably tied for third.”

But Woodley also feels the story between him and Usman remains unfinished. He argued that the fight fans saw wasn’t reflective of who he was at the time. “He fought a s—t hole of a version of me… I don’t even remember the fight.” Pointing to Usman’s history of granting rematches, Woodley added, “I’m the only one that didn’t get a chance… because they knew that 9 out of 10 times… I’m going to win.”

Having said that, it appears Tyron Woodley isn’t holding on to any ill will against Dana White or Kamaru Usman. However, he refuses to overlook the advantages handed to his rival, while he had to struggle. But do you agree with him? Who is your welterweight GOAT?