UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley doesn't believe Georges St-Pierre will attempt to win back his old belt. Not as long as it's in his possession, at least.
Woodley (16-3-1) is currently focused on defeating Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson at UFC 209 on Saturday in Las Vegas, and moving beyond a rivalry that featured a majority draw four months ago at UFC 205.
That said, of course Woodley is aware that St-Pierre (25-2) has signed a new contract to resume his career in 2017. St-Pierre, 35, hasn't fought since he vacated the welterweight title in 2013.
It's no secret Woodley would eventually love that fight, but he doesn't think St-Pierre wants any part of it. Now, if Thompson were the one with the belt, that'd be a different story.
"Let's not get it twisted, part of the reason he left the sport was concussions," Woodley told ESPN's Five Rounds podcast on Monday. "He doesn't seem to be extremely thrilled to get in there with somebody that can punch him to the point of getting dropped and suffering a concussion -- an ugly, grueling fight.
"I'm a guy who makes that fight for him. I have the highest takedown defense in the entire welterweight division, maybe the second-highest on the UFC roster. It's going to be very hard for him to take me down and keep me down."
Woodley, 34, said he has both eyes on Thompson (13-1-1) and is supremely confident going into this weekend. If, however, Thompson were to win, Woodley believes St-Pierre's interest in reclaiming the title would drastically go up.
"I think they want to see how this fight plays out," Woodley said. "If 'Wonderboy' comes up with a victory, I think we'll see him try to fight 'Wonderboy.'
"[Thompson] has a crazy style and he has knocked guys out, but how many times has he stood in the pocket and just thrown heavy leather [and] let them damn UFC gloves fly and knock somebody out? Never."
In other words, of all the potential matchups waiting for St-Pierre to return to, Woodley believes he's the most dangerous. So, as long as the welterweight title is around his waist, he expects St-Pierre to look elsewhere.
"A smaller guy like [lightweight champion] Conor McGregor or a heavier guy like [middleweight champion] Michael Bisping, who we all know is an overachiever in that division," Woodley said.
"Bisping knows he's not the best middleweight. He's just a guy who is tough, seized his moment and became the champion of the world. There's nothing bad about that, but those are way better options for [St-Pierre] than fighting somebody like me, who has been looking at him for many years, is a better wrestler, punches harder and has been more active in the last three years."
Woodley's decision to call out big names has drawn some criticism, but he says he's not the only champion trying to pick his fights. In fact, that has become the new norm in the UFC.
But to be clear, Woodley is not calling out anyone at the moment. He has this weekend's title defense to think about. And he's pretty sure St-Pierre won't fight him anyway.
"It's funny, Conor McGregor can talk about fighting Georges," Woodley said. "Nate [Diaz] can talk about fighting Georges. Nick [Diaz] can talk about fighting Georges. Bisping can talk about fighting Georges.
"I talk about fighting Georges, the whole world goes, 'Oh, he's running. He's picking opponents. What about Demian Maia? Take care of business and defend your title this many times and then you deserve it.' How many title defenses did Bisping have before he picked Dan Henderson and fought him in his hometown?"