Tag: Stephen Thompson

Five Fights That Prove UFC 205 Will Be Better Than UFC 200

The official card for November 12’s awaited UFC 205 pay-per-view (PPV) event was finally released by the promotion with the confirmation of Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez in the main event late last night, and it’s safe to say that the UFC’s New York debut from historic sports venue Madison Square Garden is one of, if

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The official card for November 12’s awaited UFC 205 pay-per-view (PPV) event was finally released by the promotion with the confirmation of Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez in the main event late last night, and it’s safe to say that the UFC’s New York debut from historic sports venue Madison Square Garden is one of, if not the, most anticipated MMA moments of 2016 – and even all time.

However, that distinction may have once belonged to July’s UFC 200, the supposed “biggest, baddest event ever,” which was pegged as arguably the most stacked card of all time before a slew of problems, including last-minute changes and disappointing drug testing issues, lead to a wholly lackluster, uninspired event outside of the Fight Pass preliminaries.

Thankfully for the UFC – and the overall state of MMA as a whole – UFC 205 has a long list of high-profile bouts that could (should?) serve to quickly erase the bad memories of UFC 200 from their minds, if they haven’t been already.

Let’s break down five fights that will prove UFC 205 has the star power to decimate UFC 200 on paper.

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5.) Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum:

This welterweight card-starter already trumps UFC 200’s welterweight offering between Gastelum and former champ Johny Hendricks, which Gastelum won via ho-hum unanimous decision. “Bigg Rigg” may be a former champion, but he’s also looked like a shell of his formerly dominant self this year, and it was hard for the much more spry Gastelum to put on a good show at UFC 200 without a willing dance partner.

It may not be the “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. “Cowboy” bout we were all hoping for, yet it does provide a potentially exciting scrap to set the tone for the PPV card.

Cerrone has absolutely been on fire in his last three fights, finishing off Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, and most recently, Rick Story to reinvent himself at 170 pounds following a stoppage loss to Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight strap late last year. Gastelum has quietly planted himself as a top five contender in arguably the UFC’s most talented division, making this bout a crucial one with pivotal title implications.

No matter who wins, the welterweight division will have a new contender towards the top; one who could contend for the title after Demian Maia gets his shot (or face Maia himself).

Either way, it would seem this fight is a can’t-miss bout that will get the UFC’s New York party started right.

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Stephen Thompson’s Dad Goes After Tyron Woodley On Facebook

According to the champ himself, UFC welterweight title-holder Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley will defend his 170-pound throne against the ‘Wonderboy’ Stephen Thompson. Shortly after taking the title from ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 this past July, Woodley immediately began to campaign for a massive ‘money fight’ with welterweight legends such as Nick Diaz

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According to the champ himself, UFC welterweight title-holder Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley will defend his 170-pound throne against the ‘Wonderboy’ Stephen Thompson.

Shortly after taking the title from ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 this past July, Woodley immediately began to campaign for a massive ‘money fight’ with welterweight legends such as Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre.

‘Wonderboy’ immediately threw his name in the hat for a shot at the new champion’s title, but was shut down by Woodley who stated that Thompson should fight Lawler instead since he was so sure he would win.

Now it seems that the champ has decided to change his mind and give the No. 2-ranked 170-pounder a shot at the gold, but not without taking a few shots at his counterpart as well.

Woodley stated earlier this week that he doesn’t respect Thompson as a man. ‘The Chosen One’ also claims that ‘Wonderboy’ and his team knew about the fight six weeks before it’s announcement:

“He knows that we committed to this fight almost six weeks ago and for him to charade around like I’m scared to fight him, retweeting and liking all these posts.

“For someone to desperately need to that affirmation from the fans and for people to like him, like I can’t respect that,” Woodley said.

‘Wonderboy’s’ father, Ray Thompson, took to Facebook to counter Woodley’s claims, stating that the Thompson camp didn’t find out about the fight until Woodley made the announcement on FS1:

Woodley then fired some shots at Thompson through social media himself, claiming ‘Wonderboy’s’ father is fighting his battles for him:

Pappa Thompson would have the last words however, as he stated that while he and Woodley argued over social media, his son was deep in preparation for their upcoming title clash:

Woodley will defend his title against ‘Wonderboy’ at UFC 205 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Madison Square Garden arena in New York City on November 12, 2016.

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Underdog Role Fits UFC Champion Tyron Woodley Just Fine

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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wElfXN1oTvQ[/embed]

From a betting perspective, Tyron Woodley enters his first title defense as an underdog.

And the reigning UFC welterweight champion is fine with that.

Woodley is expected to face Stephen Thompson in November at UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden. He won the belt with a first round knockout over Robbie Lawler earlier this year.

“It came from knowing you’ve done everything to prepare and left no stone unturned, understanding your opponent and yourself,” he said, during an appearance on UFC Tonight. “I felt like it was my time. Robbie was fighter of the year for a reason. He’s a friend of mine, a guy I respect. But I felt there was no way I was going to walk out without it.”

Woodley told Thompson after the win over Lawler that he wanted to face either Nick Diaz or Georges St-Pierre first. That, though, was not the champion turning Thompson down at all.

“We’re fighting at Madison Square Garden, I promise that,” he said. “I never said I wasn’t fighting him and I never turned it down. The first time I was offered that fight, I accepted it.”

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From a betting perspective, Tyron Woodley enters his first title defense as an underdog.

And the reigning UFC welterweight champion is fine with that.

Woodley is expected to face Stephen Thompson in November at UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden. He won the belt with a first round knockout over Robbie Lawler earlier this year.

“It came from knowing you’ve done everything to prepare and left no stone unturned, understanding your opponent and yourself,” he said, during an appearance on UFC Tonight. “I felt like it was my time. Robbie was fighter of the year for a reason. He’s a friend of mine, a guy I respect. But I felt there was no way I was going to walk out without it.”

Woodley told Thompson after the win over Lawler that he wanted to face either Nick Diaz or Georges St-Pierre first. That, though, was not the champion turning Thompson down at all.

“We’re fighting at Madison Square Garden, I promise that,” he said. “I never said I wasn’t fighting him and I never turned it down. The first time I was offered that fight, I accepted it.”

Breaking: Conor McGregor Won’t Fight At UFC 205

Finally, several bouts have been made official for November 12’s UFC 205 pay-per-view event from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Featherweight champion Conor McGregor just won’t be among them unfortunately. Speculation has recently predicted a Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez main event for the lightweight title, but UFC President Dana White seemingly

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Finally, several bouts have been made official for November 12’s UFC 205 pay-per-view event from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.

Featherweight champion Conor McGregor just won’t be among them unfortunately.

Speculation has recently predicted a Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez main event for the lightweight title, but UFC President Dana White seemingly put the kibosh on those plans by saying top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov would get the next 155-pound title shot at the event. 

White expanded upon that notion earlier tonight when Megan Olivi announced on ‘UFC Tonight’ that the president revealed McGregor was still rehabbing a foot injury from his five-round war with Nate Diaz at August 20’s UFC 202. That meant ‘The Notorious’ was unlikely to fight at the UFC’s first event from New York City. Alvarez vs. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, was clarified by White as potentially headlining December 10’s UFC 206 from Toronto. Both fighters have been sent new bout agreements for the title tilt.

The five bouts that were officially announced were Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens, Kelvin Gastelum vs. Donald Cerrone, Tim Kennedy vs. Rashad Evans, Tim Boestch vs. Rafael Natal, and Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian. Hailing from nearby Toms River, New Jersey, Edgar will look to rebound from a loss to longtime former champion Aldo for the interim featherweight belt in at July’s UFC 200 from Las Vegas.

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley also guaranteed as ‘UFC Tonight’ co-host that he would be facing Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at the card, a fight that he announced last Friday but is only being held up by a technicality in the contract according to ‘The Chosen One.’

The full card will be announced at a press conference from Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, September 27, 2016, three days before tickets for the historic card go on sale.

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Tyron Woodley Opens As Early Underdog Against Stephen Thompson

New UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley may have been aiming for a ‘money fight’ against Georges St. Pierre or Nick Diaz after he won the belt by knocking out Robbie Lawler in late July, but most MMA fans’ wishes were fulfilled at last Friday’s UFC Fight Night 94 weigh-ins when ‘T-Wood’ confirmed he would be

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New UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley may have been aiming for a ‘money fight’ against Georges St. Pierre or Nick Diaz after he won the belt by knocking out Robbie Lawler in late July, but most MMA fans’ wishes were fulfilled at last Friday’s UFC Fight Night 94 weigh-ins when ‘T-Wood’ confirmed he would be facing consensus No. 1 contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at November 12’s monumental UFC 205 from New York.

Most regard ‘Wonderboy’ as the greatest threat to Woodley’s crown, as the general thinking is that Thompson will be able to keep out of Woodley’s early power range while picking him apart in the mid to later rounds where ‘T-Wood’ tends to fade. Apparently oddsmakers agree with this sentiment as well, as Thompson is a -150 favorite with Woodley a +120 underdog according to early numbers from MMAOddsbreakers’ Nick Kalikas, who explained his thinking for setting the line:

“Tyron Woodley is a deserving and dangerous champion, having knocked out Robbie Lawler to claim the welterweight crown, but he may have his hands full in Stephen Thompson. Thompson has proven himself as the best striker at 170 pounds. Woodley has explosive power and is an excellent wrestler, but he’s had major difficulty against technical strikers with excellent takedown defense like Rory MacDonald. Thompson uses distance expertly and recently proved he can push a solid pace for five rounds with his last win. I’m opening the title challenger Thompson as a -150 betting favorite because I feel as long as he survives Woodley in the first round and settles in, he’ll be able to control almost every dynamic of the fight.”

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It’s far from the first time Woodley has been in this position, however. Despite his position as champion and arguably the hardest hitter in the talented UFC welterweight division, MMA Junkie pointed out that Woodley has opened as the betting dog in an alarming six straight fights against Carlos Condit, Rory MacDonald, Dong Hyun Kim, Kelvin Gastelum, Lawler, and now Thompson.

He only lost to MacDonald, but many believe that fight will paint the picture of why he will lose to Thompson as ‘The Red King’ was a lanky, technical striker whom ‘Wonderboy’ thoroughly out-struck in their meeting at UFC Fight Night 89 this June.

So it’s a role that Woodley has relished, mainly silencing his doubters with a mix of high-powered knockouts amongst a controversial decision win over Gastelum and his injury TKO victory over

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Tyron Woodley Confirms Title Defense Against “Wonderboy” Thompson At UFC 205 In NY

During the UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs. Johnson weigh-in show on FOX Sports 1, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley made a big announcement.

“The Chosen One” told his FS1 co-hosts Karyn Bryant and former UFC title contender Dan “The Outlaw…

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During the UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs. Johnson weigh-in show on FOX Sports 1, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley made a big announcement.

“The Chosen One” told his FS1 co-hosts Karyn Bryant and former UFC title contender Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy that despite what many may think, he hasn’t been avoiding a fight against dangerous knockout artist Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

Not only is he not dodging the rising contender, he will be defending his newly won UFC 170-pound title against him in his very first defense, which is exactly what most fans thought he was not going to do.

Woodley announced that it will be himself against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson inside the Octagon when it graces the center of the legendary Madison Square Garden arena on Saturday, November 12th in the first-ever UFC event to be held in the state of New York.

Dan Hardy brought up some of the beef that has developed since “Wonderboy” Thompson defeated Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks in his last two fights. “The Chosen One,” never one shy with his words, immediately fired back with the first shot now that the match is official.

“I wanted to call him ‘Wonder Woman,'” said Woodley. “But the inside of me kept it to myself.”

Check out the video of Tyron Woodley’s big announcement from the UFN 94 Weigh-In Show on FS1 on Friday evening below.