Much has been made about Tyron Woodley's refusal to take on Hector Lombard inside the Octagon, drawing the ire of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans around the globe who'd love nothing more than to see the two heavy-hitters collide.
But staying true to his word, Woodley was adamant that he will never fight anyone associated with American Top Team (ATT) unless it's for a world title.
Hector, however, doesn't feel the same way.
For the most part, "T-Wood" has kept quiet on the situation, but during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Woodley decided it was time to set the record straight for all of his doubters and people accusing him of ducking fights.
As he put it, aside from not fighting a fellow ATT member, competing five times in one calendar year was not very ideal.
"Look at my resume, look at who I fought. I haven't fought any scrubs. I haven't had a big break. I fought four times in a year. I fought in November, I fought March, I fought in June and I fought in August; and I'm supposed to turn right back around and fight in November just because somebody wants to fight me? The reasons why I didn't fight, I stand true to those reasons. If me and somebody from American Top Team (ATT); whether this person is my best friend or a complete idiot, I'm not going to fight that person unless it's for a world title because we can fight somebody else in the division. It's so stacked. I don't think that Kelvin Gastelum is any less dangerous than Hector Lombard. I don't think Carlos Condit is any less dangerous than Hector Lombard. I don't think Rory MacDonald is any less skilled than Hector Lombard. So for someone to say that I'm scared or I'm ducking a fight; I've never ducked a fight. I've accepted fights within 10 minutes. It's like, 'Hey Tyron, we want you take Hector's fight -- Mr. injured, and all of a sudden healed -- we want you to take that fight (against Dong Hyun Kim).' So I said, 'let me go train for an hour.' I'm in Singapore on vacation. I train and I get back on the phone and I miraculously saved the card. People don't remember that, they got a very short-term memory, very conditional. At one point, I was about to pop off, because I was getting pissed off because people...if you know where I'm from, and what I've been through in my life, I haven't always been the person that I am right now, so me being scared of somebody is not very likely. So when people say those things, you kind of want to get back at them, but those people are just viewing and spectating, sitting behind a computer and they wouldn't say that to your face, number one. Two, they don't know all of the facts that are involved. And three, it's not really their business, so I just tried to stay focused. I figured once I got a new opponent and he got a new opponent, people would focus on that. But, I'm obviously on their mind and our names keep staying in the same sentence."
If Dana White -- whose pet peeve is fighters turning down fights -- isn't upset at "The Chosen One," then you probably shouldn't be either.
Nevertheless, Lombard went on to get a new opponent as he is set to welcome Josh Burkman to the Octagon when they meet at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada (details).
Woodley, meanwhile, will face Kelvin Gastelum -- a fighter Tyron says he is "very impressed" with -- in the co-main event of UFC 183 on Jan. 31, 2015, also in "Sin City." That pay-per-view (PPV) card will be headlined by a much-anticipated "super fight" between Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz.
In the end, it seems Woodley's decision paid off, as being co-pilot to that mega event against one of the fastest-rising contenders in the division will truly help his "brand."