UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is still recovering from shoulder surgery and doesn’t know whom he’s going to fight next, but he does have some thoughts on some upcoming welterweight fights.

The top of the 170-pound weight class recently has been locked in a bit of a stalemate. Thing have begun to shake out in recent weeks, though, with several key welterweight bouts coming together that should help provide clarity to the pecking order for Woodley’s (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) title.

An interim welterweight title bout between Rafael dos Anjos (28-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) and Colby Covington (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is reportedly planned for May’s UFC 224 event. Later that month, Kamaru Usman (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (26-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) is booked for UFC Fight Night 129, and Stephen Thompson (14-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) vs. Darren Till (16-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) is set for UFC Fight Night 130.

The division will look different by the time all those fights play out, and the champ has an idea on how it will all unfold. That starts with the highly anticipated Thompson vs. Till matchup, which “The Chosen One” thinks will go Thompson’s way.

“‘Wonderboy’ the gatekeeper,” Woodley said in a recent Q&A on Instagram Live. “He’ll do all my light work for me. All the dudes that think they want a shot at the strap, they’ve got to go through him, and ain’t nobody do it yet. I think Thompson (will win) man, to be honest. I know I’ve talked a lot of trash about Thompson, more in light joking. But Thompson is a very difficult puzzle to figure out. And it took me a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of training partners to figure him out.

“I just don’t think Till has what it takes to take him out. With that said, I’ve got to go with ‘Wonderboy,’ even though he’s never said I was going to win a fight. But I’m just going to be a real guy and be honest: I think he’s going to win.”

One week prior to that Liverpool headliner, Usman vs. Ponzinibbio headlines the UFC’s debut in Chile. With seven straight victories, Usman has the longest active winning streak in the division. Ponzinibbio trails him by just one. Woodley called it a “toss up.” He thinks Usman is the likely winner but isn’t going to underestimate the Argentinian powerhouse.

“I think Usman’s probably going to do his thing against Ponzinibbio,” Woodley said. “Ponzinibbio is tough, though – crazy striker, really big for the weight class, a lot of punches thrown with cruel intent. It’s hard to say (who will win) in that fight.”

The fight that will have the greatest direct impact on Woodley, though, is the interim title bout between dos Anjos and Covington at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro. The matchup is not yet official, though it appears all but set, and Woodley is somewhat puzzled by the situation.

Woodley’s confusion doesn’t come from the fact an interim title is being implemented, though. Despite him having defended the title as recently as July’s UFC 214 event against Demian Maia – and also stating he would be prepared for a mid-summer return – Woodley said it’s strange that dos Anjos would risk his No. 1 contender position.

“RDA or Queefington? That’s a tough fight to say,” Woodley said. “RDA, I don’t know why he’s even taking the fight. He could have fought me next. A roll of the dice. I told him I could fight in July, so if he want to fight this fight in between in May and risk getting passed up on his title shot, then that’s his bad.”

Woodley said recovery from his December shoulder surgery is coming along as planned, and he could be ready to go by UFC 226 in July. He doesn’t know who his opponent will be, but regardless Woodley said no one is taking the strap away from him.

“I don’t even want to talk about who I want next because any time I mention a fighter, for some reason people have a different approach about it,” Woodley said. “I would rather just go out there and whoop everybody’s ass one by one. Whoever you guys and the UFC decides I’m going to fight next, that’s the person who is going to get the biz, and after that there’s not going to be nobody left.”

For more on the UFC’s schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.