Living up to expectations can’t be easy.
Coming into their bout at UFC 170 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Stephen Thompson looked to be the favorite over Robert Whittaker, mainly based on his accomplishments in the kickboxing world. Whittaker won the welterweight tournament on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes and was looking to make his name, like so many others before him.
Both men had something the other wanted, and they no doubt expected more from themselves than we did.
Thompson was a proven striker with a 20-0 kickboxing record. With only one loss in MMA, from a technical standpoint, it looked like this fight could be his chance to prove he could impose his skills against a heavy hitter while proving he could handle the pressure of being on the main card.
For Whittaker, he had an equal opportunity to prove that his power and aggression were equalizers that should not be ignored.
After the fight ended, we learned that desire, when coupled with power and pressure, could enable technique with devastating results.
Thompson looked every bit as good as the hype, utilizing a fierce body attack in the beginning before going upstairs and landing with hard punches to the head. Whittaker did his best to stay inside and eliminate the potent kicks of Thompson, but in doing so he stepped into punching range.
As game as Whittaker was, he simply couldn’t handle the effective aggression of Thompson, who finished the fight via first-round TKO after hurting him with a hard right hand.
Thompson looked very good in the role of main card fighter, acting and reacting with poise and purpose.
Of course, we still don’t know how well Thompson is going to handle stiffer competition given he was only in action for less than five minutes, but that is coming soon. What we do know is that he is a fighter who can utilize a varied striking attack with brutal results, which is going to give his next opponent a lot to think about.
If his takedown defense is up to the task, he could make a lot of noise in a division that is full of strong grapplers who possess some serious power in their punches.
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