Woodley says he's accepted Covington fight

Less than a week after his lopsided loss to Gilbert Burns in the UFC Fight Night main event, former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley said Wednesday that he has agreed to a bout against Colby Covington.

"They offered me that fight. I told them I'm in," Woodley told ESPN's Ariel Helwani.

"I mean, I just don't want to talk a lot about Colby because Colby is an actor, man. I know what he's doing and it makes sense and it's kind of fun to watch. But at the end of the day, Colby's turned me down five or six times. But I think after losing two fights back-to-back, I think it may be a time where he may accept it because he may think I'm down and out."

The two athletes have gone back and forth on social media and in the press over the past few years. They were expected to face off in 2018 when Woodley was the 170-pound titleholder, but the fight ultimately never came to fruition. Woodley and Covington also talked about fighting each other multiple times earlier this year.

Woodley dropped the belt to Kamaru Usman in March 2019. He returned to the Octagon this past weekend and suffered a unanimous decision loss to rising contender Burns.

"(The UFC) wanted to see if I was alright, and then they offered me the fight against Colby," Woodley said. "And I told (my manager), I said, 'Make sure you tell them today: yes.'"