Stephen Thompson is hoping to secure a high-profile rematch with Jorge Masvidal. The two welterweight contenders previously faced off at UFC 217 with ‘Wonderboy’ emerging victorious via split decision.
Masvidal spoke about his goal to rematch Thompson before his late-notice fight against the welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman at UFC 251. ‘Gamebred’ dropped to a decision loss in his UFC title bout on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi which potentially brings a rematch ‘Wonderboy’ closer than ever.
Speaking to James Lynch for Line Movement Thompson revealed he is hoping to return to the cage sooner rather than later to face one of the top-ranked guys at 170lbs, he said.
“Man, hopefully sometime soon, August, September would be preferable. But, like you said, at the moment, who do I face? I just fought the No. 12 guy, well he was, Vicente Luque, I don’t know where he is right now but I know he has a fight coming up. I’m always looking for the title, I want to move forward. Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, even Masvidal I wouldn’t mind, even though he doesn’t have the title, I would love to face up Masvidal again. It will help me out moving up in the rankings for sure. So, anyone of those guys I mentioned would be awesome.”
‘Wonderboy’ recognizes Masvidal would present a much tougher task second time round. The 35-year-old respects ‘Street Jesus’ has changed up his training routine and is riding high after a series of big wins.
“Oh, 100 percent I think he will be a different animal for sure,” Thompson said. “His confidence level is through the roof and that can go a long way. Not just that but his training routine, his mindset is different than it was before.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Who do you think will win if Stephen Thompson and Jorge Masvidal rematch?