“The problem is that there haven’t been that many champions at welterweight,” Cormier was quoted as saying by MMAnews. “In this division, the champions have ruled for so long that there were not too many of them. So I put Georges St-Pierre in charge, he’s our George Washington, then Matt Hughes, Kamaru Usman, and fourth I’ll call Tyrone Woodley.”
Cormier also explained why he did not name another former UFC champion, Robbie Lawler, who held the title from 2014 to 2016.
“I understand that Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler have seemingly similar resumes, but we have to consider exactly how Tyron beat Robbie and became a champion. How he dealt with Darren Till, how he defended his belt many times, and because he was one of the most difficult champions in the job, he did not receive any favors from UFC management.
Recall that at the moment the UFC welterweight title is owned by Briton Leon Edwards, who knocked out Kamaru Usman in August last year, and in March of this year he successfully defended the championship belt in an immediate rematch, defeating the Nigerian by a majority of judges’ votes.