UFC Fight Night 89 is live this weekend (June 18, 2016) from Ottawa, Canada and is headlined by the cream of the crop in the welterweight division, when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. Thompson is coming off of a first round TKO victory over former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks, which
UFC Fight Night 89 is live this weekend (June 18, 2016) from Ottawa, Canada and is headlined by the cream of the crop in the welterweight division, when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
Thompson is coming off of a first round TKO victory over former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks, which he initially believed was enough to earn him title contender-ship.
That proved not to be the case, as the UFC instead chose No. 3-ranked Tyron Woodley to take on champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 201.
Now that MacDonald and Thompson sit atop the welterweight rankings ‘Wonderboy’ is convinced that no matter who wins the perennial 170-pound contest, the winner has to be given the next shot at UFC gold:
“Win or lose, me or Rory, they have to give it to us,” he said (Courtesy of MMAJunkie). “I understand he fought for the title back in July, but he’s been at the top of the game for a long time.”
“With a good win over Rory, they have to give it to me. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
MacDonald has challenged for the title once before as well as having been amongst the elite of the elite in the talented pool that is the welterweight class, a fact Thompson is sure not to overlook when they tangle this weekend:
“I’m prepared for the best Rory, especially after a loss,” Thompson said. “I became the fighter that I am after my loss to Matt Brown. Mentally, I want to be prepared for the best.
If I’m thinking he may not feel this way or may not be the same after that fight with Lawler, I don’t like to think that. I think I’m facing the toughest Rory MacDonald on Saturday. To me, I don’t think it affects him.”
“(MacDonald) is the best well-rounded fighter I’ve faced so far,” Thompson said. “Fairly similar to St-Pierre. My goal is to keep it standing on my feet, obviously.
I would not want to go to the ground with this guy. He’s the No. 1 contender and been at the top of the game for a long time for a good reason. He’s a good martial artist.”
It was also revealed that MacDonald has brought in karate champion Raymond Daniels to mimic Thompson’s style ahead of their clash:
“Rory is bringing him in to get used to the movement. It is a different movement, and it is very frustrating if you’ve never been standing in front of somebody with that type of movement.”
While Thompson would love to go in there and finish the job early against MacDonald Saturday night, ‘Wonderboy’ is fully prepared to go five rounds with ‘The Red King’ as opposed to fully committing to a knockout:
“I always go out there and prepare for a five, five-minute round war,” Thompson said. “Mentally, that’s just how I look at it. I never go out there looking for the knockout.
I’ve done that in the past in kickboxing and worn myself out trying. Sometimes, that can break people mentally.
You go out there looking for the knockout and it doesn’t happen? I just let it happen. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. You can’t go out there looking for it, because you’ll wear yourself out trying.”
MacDonald and Thompson are set to headline UFC Fight Night 89, which takes place live from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Canada, live on FS1 on June 18, 2016.
Former UFC and WEC lightweight title contender Donald Cerrone made a smooth transition up to welterweight in Fenbruary, defeating fellow ‘Cowboy’ Alex Oliveira with a slick triangle choke. After a failed 155-pound title attempt against Rafael dos Anjos in December of last year, the nine-year UFC/WEC veteran decided he’d try his luck at 170 pounds.
Former UFC and WEC lightweight title contender Donald Cerrone made a smooth transition up to welterweight in Fenbruary, defeating fellow ‘Cowboy’ Alex Oliveira with a slick triangle choke. After a failed 155-pound title attempt against Rafael dos Anjos in December of last year, the nine-year UFC/WEC veteran decided he’d try his luck at 170 pounds. Now set to face Patrick Cote at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 89, Cerrone recently teased a potential move to middleweight in the future.
Cerrone’s willingness to take short notice fights against anyone, anytime saw him compete 12 times in the UFC octagon between January 2013 and December 2015. Wins over Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez highlight ‘Cowboy’s’ 16-4 promotional record.
Talking during a live Facebook Q&A this week, Donald Cerrone addressed a number of interesting questions from fans, and also some ‘keyboard warriors.’ First up he made a prediction for the welterweight main event in Ottawa between Rory MacDonald and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson:
“I think Wonderboy is going to win (the main event vs. MacDonald). I think he’s going to take it, I really do, that’s a fight I’d be interested in facing the winner of. I don’t know if I’m going to stay at 170 or go back to 155, but I know I’m going to stay fighting, I love it, it’s what I enjoy doing; kicking ass.”
On Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt at UFC 200 and GSP’s return:
“If Mark (Hunt) gets a hold of him, I think he’s going to put him to sleep. But if Brock (Lesnar) goes out there and wrestles him he’s going to take it to the ground…I also think GSP is going to make a comeback, I hear there’s works for him to come back at 185. Should be fun, I really like him.”
Cerrone also got asked a number of questions about UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, which you can find on the next page.
No. 2-ranked UFC welterweight contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson may very well be the best striker in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), or he at least ranks amongst the elite in that category. The 33-year-old has suddenly emerged as a legitimate contender in the 170-pound division after putting together a six fight win streak that
No. 2-ranked UFC welterweight contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson may very well be the best striker in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), or he at least ranks amongst the elite in that category.
The 33-year-old has suddenly emerged as a legitimate contender in the 170-pound division after putting together a six fight win streak that was capped off by a dominant stoppage victory over ex-champion Johny Hendricks last February.
In the wake of such success, “Wonderboy” will get his chance to establish himself as the clear No. 1 contender in the main event of this weekend’s (June 18, 2016) UFC Fight Night 89 when he meets former title challenger and top-ranked welterweight Rory “Red King” MacDonald.
If Thompson can secure yet another win over a respectable name, the UFC will no longer be able to deny him a title shot, and he could very well represent the last roadblock to champion Robbie Lawler, who has been on a quest to clean out the top of the division since becoming the champion in December 2014.
The welterweight division packs some serious competition, but in terms of true title contenders, the level of talent appears to dip after the No. 6-ranked Hendricks.
When looking at the fighters ranked from No. 1 to No. 6, Lawler has already beaten three of them, one of them twice, and is slated to face a fourth in Tyron Woodley in the main event of July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Georgia.
If the “Ruthless” one can get by Woodley, who has been waiting on the sidelines since January 2015, only “Wonderboy” and grappling guru Demian Maia will remain, and the UFC doesn’t appear to be too enthusiastic about pushing Maia towards a title shot given the fact that he isn’t the most marketable name.
With that being said, Thompson could seemingly serve as Lawler’s last obstacle before cleaning out one of the best upper echolons of a division in all of MMA, a true murderer’s row of contenders.
Of course this will be irrelevant if Lawler comes up short against Woodley, and if “Wonderboy” falls opposite MacDonald, then the “Ruthless” one will likely be left with rematches and trilogy bouts. That may not necessarily be a bad thing given the action-packed nature of Lawler’s recent fights, but a division is always striving for new contests.
Lawler vs. Thompson is that new contest.
Neither man has an easy path towards making this bout happen, but given the way each has been fighting, it’s a very realistic possibility. If and when this fight occurs, Thompson will look to continue his rise towards UFC stardom while Lawler’s trek towards 170-pound greatness will hang in the balance.
How do you see the future of the welterweight division playing out?
Go inside the mind of Rory MacDonald as he prepares for Saturday night’s welterweight showdown with Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 89 in this special video.
MacDonald works with his coaches at Tristar Gym, including former UFC champion Georges …
Go inside the mind of Rory MacDonald as he prepares for Saturday night’s welterweight showdown with Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 89 in this special video.
MacDonald works with his coaches at Tristar Gym, including former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, to fine-tune all aspects of his game.
Rory MacDonald (18-3) is set to fight Stephen Thompson (12-1) in the main of UFC Fight Night 89 in a welterweight bout and spoke with FOX Sports to promote the fight. During the interview, MacDonald talked about his classic fight with UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 189. In that fight, both fighters went
Rory MacDonald (18-3) is set to fight Stephen Thompson (12-1) in the main of UFC Fight Night 89 in a welterweight bout and spoke with FOX Sports to promote the fight. During the interview, MacDonald talked about his classic fight with UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 189. In that fight, both fighters went to war and MacDonald suffered a broken nose, which was nasty. Lawler won the fight by fifth round TKO. MacDonald thinks he will fight Lawler a couple more times.
“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if me and Robbie fight another couple of time. I really don’t know how much time he has left in his career, but I know I have many fights left at the top of the sport. If he’s still around in a few years, I wouldn’t be surprised if we fight multiple times.”
MacDonald was then asked about his fight with Thompson. According to MacDonald, he believes he is a different kind of fighter and a better striker than Thompson’s previous opponents.
“I think he’s a vicious striker but I don’t think a lot of the competition he’s faced really understand his striking the way that I do,” MacDonald explained. “So I think that’s where I’m going to have the advantage versus the guys that he’s fought. He’s made them look pretty bad. I don’t feel that I’m going to be put in the same boat as his last few fights.
“I believe that this fight could go many different directions. I feel confident dragging him into deep waters in the fifth round, but I also feel confident in the first few rounds as well. I prepared myself for every scenario this fight could go. I really don’t feel I’ve been prepared for any other fight in my career. If I don’t have the best performance of my life then kudos to Stephen for shutting me down.”
UFC Fight Night 89 takes place on June 18 at the TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The prelims kick off at 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT on Fight Pass then continue over to FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT. The main card will air at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 1.
Now that MacDonald and Thompson sit atop the welterweight rankings ‘Wonderboy’ is convinced that no matter who wins the perennial 170-pound contest, the winner has to be given the next shot at UFC gold:
It was also revealed that MacDonald has brought in karate champion Raymond Daniels to mimic Thompson’s style ahead of their clash:
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