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Tyron Woodley explains why he called out Georges St-Pierre

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:14 p.m. ET

Jonathan Bradley

Tyron Woodley shocked a lot of people at UFC 201 when he KO’d Robbie Lawler to become the new welterweight champion, and afterwards, kept the surprises coming when he targeted 170-pound greats Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre for his next fight.

While some questioned whether Woodley had the clout to make such hefty demands, “The Chosen One” pressed on, even reaching out to St-Pierre about a potential showdown.

“We might have had a text message about the potential of us fighting and I think both of us mutually agreed it was a good idea.” Woodley told FOX Sports’ Andy Nesbit.

St-Pierre took a sabbatical from the sport -- while still holding the belt -- back in 2013 after a closely contested bout with Johny Hendricks. It was long rumored that he was considering a comeback, but the Canadian made it official this week when he added himself to the USADA testing pool.

And now that GSP is definitely coming back, Woodley says he would have been counterproductive not to ask for that fight.

“If I watched this guy reign at the top for so long and he’s talking about coming back, I have to go out there and prove to myself that I’m the best in the world,” Woodley said. “Because, if I know he’s around and he’s thinking about fighting, and I don’t take that fight, I can’t honestly say I’m the best in the world.”

If he could have things his way, Woodley says he’d like to fight GSP at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in New York. But as our Damon Martin pointed out, GSP is subject to four months of USADA drug testing before he can fight again since he’s coming out of retirement and won’t be eligible until Dec. 10 at the earlier.

Woodley has said he doesn’t mind waiting around, and GSP reportedly is down, so it appears the ball is in the UFC’s court.

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