Tyron Woodley ‘wasn’t impressed’ by Rafael dos Anjos because he didn’t finish Robbie Lawler

Whether you like his fighting style or not, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is here to stay. After all, “Chosen One” just recorded his second-straight title defense with a win over Demian Maia at UFC 214.

As the leader of the incredibly talented 170-pound division, Woodley is always watching for the next contender on the rise. He has already dispatched of former champion Robbie Lawler, Karate wizard Stephen Thompson, submission legend Maia, and may now have his hands full with former lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos.

Dos Anjos looked phenomenal in his recent unanimous decision win over Lawler at UFC on FOX 26, but Woodley isn’t quite ready to crown him the next great thing in the welterweight division, especially since Woodley himself owns a knockout win over “Ruthless.”

“Was it a good performance?” Woodley told MMA Fighting on Friday. “If I had Robbie Lawler against the Octagon like that, would he have been alive or would he have been knocked the f*ck out? He’d have been knocked out.”

Considering RDA bashed Lawler into pieces over the course of five rounds it’s hard to dismiss the Brazilian’s legitimacy as a 170-pound title threat. However, Woodley doesn’t necessarily agree that dos Anjos put on his best performance while trying to take Lawler’s head off.

“I just think when you come to this welterweight level, you’re dealing with a different type of power,” Woodley said. “I feel like strategically, those guys look good, because the idea of a good fight to fans is a teeter-tottering, back-and-forth war. But when you got a guy that’s known for his jiu-jitsu, leg kicks and takedowns and he doesn’t use those when those are there, it’s not that great of a performance.

“When you got Robbie against the Octagon and he’s throwing punches in bunches and he’s swinging, hitting elbows and hitting with MMA gloves, yeah he threw 100 punches, but how many actually landed? How many did significant damage? If I get Robbie against the cage, it’s gonna take a couple and he’s gonna go down. Put Stephen [Thompson] against the cage, it took a couple and he went down. Nate Marquardt. Anybody, in win or defeat, if I see the chin and I hit it, they go down.”

Whether or not RDA’s recent victory has earned him a shot at the welterweight title, Woodley isn’t looking to fight an opponent that he’ll have to carry in the lead up. Instead, “Chosen One” is hoping to put his championship on the line against someone who has a bigger promotional stock than he.

“I’m looking forward to fighting people who their brands are larger than mine. I’m not looking to bring somebody up,” Woodley said. “I’m in a position where I did that already. I’ve already sought out to fight the guy with a brand, so that I could project myself and bring myself up. I’m just not interested in promoting other people, man. I worked so hard to self-promote myself. I don’t have no agent. I’m out there in these streets and I’m hustling. Until someone can show me they’re doing the same thing or truly deserve the No. 1 contender, I’m good.”

Unfortunately for dos Anjos, his one-sided win over “Ruthless” just wasn’t enough to spark Woodley’s interest in a potential matchup.

“I wasn’t really impressed,” Woodley said. “I wasn’t impressed.”