17 February 2023 , 17:14
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Tyron Woodley found out that a seven-figure deal to fight KSI was off via social media posts after the pair had agreed terms for a fight this year.
The legendary former UFC welterweight champion had agreed to stringent terms including a pound-specific weight and a restrictive rehydration clause for the pair to meet on January 14. But KSI ended up opting for Dillon Danis instead, who was ultimately replaced by Faze Temperrr after he pulled out just days before the fight.
It would have marked Woodley's return to the ring after his knockout defeat to Jake Paul, and motivation was high to snap his six-fight losing streak between MMA and boxing. But after flying to Dubai to confront KSI in-person at his brother Deji's fight with Floyd Mayweather, the ex-UFC star learned that promoters had opted for Danis instead.
"He sent me a seven-figure contract to fight him," Woodley told Mirror Fighting in an exclusive chat to promote his appearance as a celebrity judge on tonight's episode of PFL Challenger Series. "Now, don't play with my f***ing family and my money. I'm preparing, you tell me I got a fight and I'm negotiating the terms.
"Then we get the contract and I'm waiting for him to put the ink on it and something tells me to pull up to Dubai. I pulled up myself, nobody paid for my flight I paid for my own flight, 4 o'clock on Friday and I was there that night at 10pm, so something told me there was going to be some goofy stuff going on."
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The pair had a small altercation at ringside as KSI was assisting with his brother's corner, and the following weekend it was announced that the Brit would be facing Danis in London. Woodley expressed his annoyance multiple times over the coming months, and wasn't even contacted to replace the Bellator star on short notice after he pulled out.
"You asked to fight me," Woodley protested. "I didn't even know his damn name; JJ, until he kept talking about me for two years on Instagram and Twitter. Then after that he offered me a fight. His manager Mams called my manager and they offered me a fight and I said yeah.
"How are you going to offer me a fight, send me a contract, I say yes to the most ridiculous rehydration terms on earth and then you don't even tell me we're not fighting any more? I found out on the internet. They basically didn't want me to blow up the next day, they wanted me to weigh in at 175lb and come back the next day at 185lb.
Tyron Woodley was within touching distance of a massive-money fight with KSI (Getty Images)Would you like to see KSI fight Tyron Woodley? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"That's still cutting weight, I weigh 200lb! Why would I come in at 185lb? I walk in the ring or the cage at 187lb, homicide. But I said 'cool, I'll come in at 185lb. You're really going to get your f***ing a** beat now if you're going to come in and do these stupid little heres and theres.'
"We agreed upon a weight, which is not even a weight class, by the way, one weight, specific, on the dot weight. I couldn't be 1lb over or 1lb under. If I came in under, I'd have been out of cruiserweight. Over, I'd have been ineligible according to their Misfits terms so it was 175lb on the dot."
And it was after he agreed to that specific weight that one more stipulation was added; a rehydration clause insisting that he stay at 185lb on fight night. "They added that on after I agreed to the original terms," Woodley noted. "So I get the contract and they're like 'I know you're going to be mad but his trainers want to add this in there'.
"So I'm like 'you guys want to add stuff in? That means the contract is up for negotiation then.' That's how it works, you want to add something you've got to give up something. We agreed upon this; money, rematch clause, all this other stuff, so now if you want to add stuff you've got to be willing to negotiate. He just didn't want to fight."
Tyron Woodley is a celebrity judge on Friday night's episode of PFL Challenger Series starting at 2am live on DAZN.