Tyron Woodley vs. Colby Covington: UFC Welterweight Champion Only Slight Favorite

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has opened only as a slight favorite over Colby Covington, according to Bovada's betting lines.

Covington (14-1) is expected to face Woodley (18-3-1) next in a title unification clash after the former defeated Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision to become the interim welterweight champion Saturday night at UFC 225 in Chicago, Illinois.

Interestingly, "Chaos" was the betting underdog heading into the fight with dos Anjos before the betting lines shifted and he became the favorite. And after his impressive performance against the Brazilian, it looks like oddsmakers have taken notice as they only gave Woodley odds of -140 while Covington is +110.

Woodley has not suffered defeat since 2014 and was a notable 2-to-1 betting favorite in last year's July win over Demian Maia, who was then on a seven-fight winning run. Woodley suffered a partial labrum tear in his shoulder during that fight, later requiring surgery and time away from the octagon.

But now seemingly fully recovered, Woodley has vowed to punish Covington when they eventually meet in what has become one of the UFC's most intriguing match-ups in recent history.

Over the course of a year, Covington has slowly become the most controversial figure in the UFC. He started gaining traction when he called Brazilian fans "filthy animals" while as of late, he is publicly showing support of President Donald Trump and denouncing teams protesting against inequality.

But his main weapon of choice is his regular trash-talking of fellow fighters on social media, with Woodley being a prime target, particularly with regard to how he's a "boring" fighter and is scared to face him.

There is also the added narrative of the duo being former training partners at American Top Team with both of them having differing stories on who used to get the upper hand in sparring.

"He’s a disgrace," Woodley said of Covington following UFC 225. "He’s the s--t on the bottom of my foot when I walk through the park. That’s what he is."

"I’m not going to make it [the fight] fast. It’s not going to be in the first round. I’m going to talk to him, I’m going to embarrass him, and I’m going to do it the entire fight. And if the referee gets close, I’m going to say, ‘Move back, brother. I’ll tell you when to step in and stop this fight. Don’t f--king come in here to save his life. Let him take this fade. Let him take this ‘L.’ Let him take this a-s whooping.’ Because I don’t want him to ever fight again. Like, I wouldn’t care if he didn’t make out of the Octagon — and I’m dead-ass serious about that," he said.

There is no update on when a potential fight between the two could happen but Covington has been campaigning for a bout to take place in November when the UFC makes their now-annual return to Madison Square Garden in New York.