UFC 209: Dana White challenges Tyron Woodley to ‘finish the fight’ if he wants to be a ‘stud champion’

On the heels of a major pay-per-view event, the last thing you want to see is the head of the mixed martial arts promotion having a back-and-forth verbal spat with the headlining champion.

But, that’s just what’s going on ahead of this weekend’s UFC 209 event in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Dana White and Tyron Woodley have been taking digs at one another for the last few weeks.

After White dubbed Woodley a “drama queen,” the Welterweight champion fired back, saying that he learned to be one from him. During a recent interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter, White fired back by reminding Tyron that he fought to a draw in his last fight against Stephen Thompson.

Furthermore, the UFC head honcho advised “The Chosen One” to actually finish the fight this time around if he wants to finally get the recognition as a “stud champion.”

“Who knows? Listen, Tyron, that’s all great stuff. Great stuff. You fought to a draw in your last fight. Finish it,” White said via MMA Fighting. “Finish the fight. [Thompson] was resilient. It was that type of a fight. It was a back-and-forth fight. It was an amazing fight. It was a draw. If that’s what you want people to focus on, is what a stud champion you are, then go in there and finish it on Saturday night and nobody will be questioning you whatsoever,” he said.

White’s “drama queen” label came after “The Chosen One” claimed to be the worst-treated champion in the history of the promotion; which may or may not be due to his race.

Nevertheless, Woodley will get the chance to silence his boss — and the critics — when he faces “Wonderboy” for the second time in four months in a five-round title fight.

Super Bowl weekend seems so long ago.