While Tyron Woodley recently came under siege from Dana White for not accepting a compelling match-up against Hector Lombard, he remains adamant that he is not fight a teammate unless it was for a UFC title.

"I always like to do the fights that make the most sense," Woodley told Inside MMA. "Especially from American Top Team, my goal is to be the No. 1 guy, the world champion. It is a goal for my team to be No. 1. I'm an avid believer of ‘no strap, no scrap,' so if there is not a world title on the line I'm not open to fight guys from ATT."

Woodley added that the key to a healthy atmosphere in the gym is to communicate when placed in these tense situations, which is why the decision to fight each other in a title fight would fall on them more than the UFC.

"Even at that point, we need to communicate, talk and agree upon it ourselves. If Robbie [Lawler] was the champ and it was my turn to be the No. 1 contender, I'd have to be able to have a conversation with Robbie and say ‘Hey brother, they want us to scrap it out. What do you think about this? Are you comfortable with it?' And it is our choice to make at that point."

When asked to map out his route back to the title, Woodley explained that he selected Brown because he was recently in a title eliminator fight, and a win over the Ohio-native would likely place him back in the title picture.

"To be honest, I look at what fight makes the most sense. The reason I thought abut Matt Brown was because he fought Robbie. If he were to beat Robbie he would be fighting for a world title. He is ranked higher, ranked fifth. If you look at the [welterweight] landscape, the No. 1 guy is fighting for a world title, the No. 2 guy, Rory MacDonald, I recently had a loss to and I don't see the rematch coming that quickly, plus he is scheduled against Tarec Saffiedine. The No. 3 guy is me, No. 4 is Carlos [Condit], who's hurt and I already beat him. The very next person is Matt Brown, so I took it more strategically to see what person is going to put me right back in the title picture."

Ultimately, Woodley does not think there is anything that will alter his opinion on fighting Lombard.

"I have not said yes to Lombard and I am pretty adamant about that."