Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title contender, Stephen Thompson, wants to make his Octagon return at the upcoming UFC 244 pay-per-view (PPV) event at Madison Square Garden, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 2, 2019 in New York City.
Will Rafael dos Anjos answer the call?
This is pretty easy matchmaking, at least in terms of the welterweight rankings (see them here). Thompson (14-4-1) sits just outside the Top 5 at No. 7, while Dos Anjos (29-12) dropped to No. 5 after last week’s update.
“I know me and RDA are both coming off a loss, so might be a good time for him to heal up and maybe make that happen at MSG, so that would be cool,” Thompson told MMA Junkie. “I’m looking at somebody in the top five, and I’m ready to get back out there and do it again.”
Thompson, 36, is looking to rebound from his knockout loss to former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, in the UFC Fight Night 148 headliner back in March. “Wonderboy” has not won back-to-back fights in over three years.
As for Dos Anjos, 34, he’s still licking his wounds in the wake of his Leon Edwards loss earlier this month in San Antonio, a lopsided defeat that pretty much bounced him from the welterweight title hunt for the foreseeable future.
Thompson vs. Dos Anjos … who ya’ got?