Tyron Woodley (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Tyron Woodley had hoped not to undergo shoulder surgery, but the UFC’s welterweight champ has decided to undergo the procedure after all.

Following Woodley’s decision win over Demian Maia in July, he reported that he had injured his shoulder early on in the bout. Although Woodley campaigned for a year end bout with Nate Diaz, now that the fight isn’t going to happen, the champion reported this on UFC Tonight (quote via FOX Sports 1 press release):

“The situation with my shoulder, I was trying to rehab it. I was trying to see if I could not have to undergo surgery. I was actually going to take a fight with Mr. Nate Diaz prior to the surgery and then have it afterwards, but that fight did not shake out. So therefore, I’m going to undergo not a full reconstruction, they’re going to clean my shoulder out, anchor down the parts that they need to anchor down and then it will be on the road to recovery after that.”

The 35 year-old fighter’s only other fight in 2017 took place in March, when he earned a decision win over Stephen Thompson.