Stephen Thompson’s hopes of getting back to the big dance sooner, rather than later, were halted by Darren Till after “The Gorilla” defeated him earlier this year at UFC “Liverpool.”
But “Wonderboy” could have an easier road to the title paved for him should Till defeat current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at the upcoming UFC 228 event this Saturday night (Sept. 8, 2018) in Dallas, Texas.
That’s according to Thompson himself, who says Till winning the strap will be very beneficial for him given his loss and draw to “The Chosen One.”
“If that does happen, hopefully that puts me up closer to a (title) fight. That would be the right way to go, but as you know it’s very hard to predict. But I am leaning that way, the needle is leaning towards Till a little bit,” said Stephen during a recent edition of the Ariel Helwani MMA Show.
Having faced both men, “Wonderboy” says they each have advantages, as Tyron is obviously the strongest fighter he’s ever faced, while Till is the biggest welterweight in the division at the moment.
Which is probably why a move to middleweight is inevitable.
“If he (Till) goes out there and does what I know he can and if he is smart about it, he can win. And that would set me up perfectly, I would think, for another rematch, Of course you got guys above me,” he added. “Colby Covington might get the next shot and you got (Kamaru) Usman moving up the rankings. You got those guys, but I feel like I won that last fight against Till an I think a lot of fights agree with me. If he does win, I would love to have that rematch.”
Should the cards not fall in his favor, Thompson says he still eyes a showdown against Robbie Lawler. And despite this report, a fight between them is not yet finalized.
“To be honest, I would love to fight Robbie, I have been wanting to fight this guy for a long time and I am a big fan of his, even back in his Strikeforce where he was just knocking dudes out. He is one of those grinders, man, he don’t care and he just goes out there to fight. That’s why I’m a fan and been wanting to fight him for a while.”
It’s a fight no one will be opposed to.