Tag: Stephen Thompson

Wonderboy’s Dad Calls Out Tyron Woodley On Instagram

It’s not even been two weeks since Tyron Woodley rose to the top of the crop at 170 pounds, but the new champion has made waves. After knocking out Robbie Lawler in the first round at UFC 201, ‘The Chosen One’ went against the grain in terms of his next potential fight. Overcoming ‘Ruthless’ in

The post Wonderboy’s Dad Calls Out Tyron Woodley On Instagram appeared first on LowKick MMA.

It’s not even been two weeks since Tyron Woodley rose to the top of the crop at 170 pounds, but the new champion has made waves. After knocking out Robbie Lawler in the first round at UFC 201, ‘The Chosen One’ went against the grain in terms of his next potential fight. Overcoming ‘Ruthless’ in such dominant fashion was certainly impressive. Lawler’s recent wars had fans believing he may stay on top for a while, but Woodley’s overhand right had different ideas.

Perhaps more shocking than his monstrous KO over Lawler was Woodley’s post-fight call-outs. Mere moments after receiving the belt ‘The Chosen One’ sent the MMA media in to a frenzy. Challenges to Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre dominated headlines after the July 30 main event, leaving one particular welterweight contender in dismay.

WoodleyKO'edLawler

Wonderboy, or not

The consensus opinion was that Stephen Thompson would get the next shot at the title after UFC 201. ‘Wonderboy’ recently starched Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks, and als won a dominant decision over Rory MacDonald. Woodley’s search for ‘money fights’ has left the kickboxing ace Thompson in a tough spot.

The ironic similarities to Woodley’s run at the title and Thompson’s are not lost on fans. Tirades from angry followers over social media have led to ‘T-Wood’ putting his foot down a few times now. In a protest on Instagram, none other than ‘Wonderboy’s’ Dad Ray Thompson put the new welterweight champion on blast.

Agree?

The line between entertainment and sport has never been so blurred. Is it up to the UFC or the tile holders in terms of the next fight? If recent history is anything to go by, you’d have to say it’s been the latter. Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping, Dominick Cruz and others have been calling a lot of the shots to an extent.

Should ‘Wonderboy’ get the next shot? You might have to ask the Benjamins about that one.

The post Wonderboy’s Dad Calls Out Tyron Woodley On Instagram appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Former UFC Champ: Conor’s Going To Get His A** Beat By Nate Again

With the next UFC event in the promotion’s jam-packed summer promising to be the most awaited when Nate Diaz meets Conor McGregor in the headliner of August 20’s UFC 202 pay-per-view (PPV) from Las Vegas, fans and fighters alike are weighing in on the rematch. Former UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich is no different, and

The post Former UFC Champ: Conor’s Going To Get His A** Beat By Nate Again appeared first on LowKick MMA.

With the next UFC event in the promotion’s jam-packed summer promising to be the most awaited when Nate Diaz meets Conor McGregor in the headliner of August 20’s UFC 202 pay-per-view (PPV) from Las Vegas, fans and fighters alike are weighing in on the rematch.

Former UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich is no different, and the MMA pioneer met up with Submission Radio to offer a polarizing prediction for the massive fight. Like many, Miletich simply believes that McGregor won’t be able to handle Diaz’ size advantage, just as he wasn’t able to in their first meeting at March’s UFC 196, and even if he did, the follow-up challenges at welterweight wouldn’t be so kind:

“He’s going to get his ass beat by Nate again. And even if he were to get lucky and beat Nate, he fights guys that cut down from, you know, some of the guys at 170 are cutting down from 210-215 pounds. I mean, you’re talking skull fractures from punches from guys like that. I mean the 170-pounders who walk around at 200, 200-plus, could punch a heavyweight and break his jaw and knock him out. So these are explosive, very strong guys, who if Conor McGregor even remotely attempts to take them down, he’s going to get shut down. And if he gets hit with a three-punch combo, (he) is going to the hospital.”

DiazMcGregor1

As for the rest of the (true) welterweight division, which has arguably been the hottest topic in all of MMA since Tyron Woodley’s first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler at July 30’s UFC 201, Miletich believes that Stephen Thompson deserves the shot, but understands why Woodley would eschew that in favor of bigger moeny fights with Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz, as “The Chosen One” has a better shot at beating his “Chosen” opponents:

“Well I’m gonna give it to Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. (But) If I’m Tyron Woodley, I wanna fight Georges St. Pierre and make big money, right? Because I think that Tyron has a good shot against him, given that George had been out for several years. Nick Diaz cannot stop Tyron’s takedowns, so Tyron can control him.”

In Miletich’s opinion, Thompson would give Woodley big problems like he’s done to the rest of the entire welterweight division during his recent seven-fight win streak that has him firmly supplanted as the top contender – albeit one without a title shot:

“But Wonderboy, I’ll tell you what, Wonderboy is going to give him fits. That is a tough fight. And if Tyron is fighting guys like that and a couple of the other guys in the division that he’s going to have trouble with striking-wise who can wrestle, he may run into some problems. And like I say, match-ups really make fights. And there’s certain guys that Tyron matches up with very well and certain guys he does not match up with.”

The post Former UFC Champ: Conor’s Going To Get His A** Beat By Nate Again appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Tyron Woodley Responds To Accusations Of Ducking Wonderboy

Recently inaugurated UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley laid siege to the crown with a devastating first round knockout against Robbie Lawler. ‘Ruthless’ was unable to exit the first round thanks to Woodley’s ‘Ol’ T-Bomb’ putting his lights out in short order. It took a single well-disguised overhand right to finish Lawler’s stint as champion, and

The post Tyron Woodley Responds To Accusations Of Ducking Wonderboy appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Recently inaugurated UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley laid siege to the crown with a devastating first round knockout against Robbie Lawler. ‘Ruthless’ was unable to exit the first round thanks to Woodley’s ‘Ol’ T-Bomb’ putting his lights out in short order. It took a single well-disguised overhand right to finish Lawler’s stint as champion, and with a new king always comes a debate about the next contender. In the case of ‘The Chosen One’ it wasn’t a simple matter of assessing the cavalcade at the top end of the division.

In similar fashion to Conor McGregor, Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping’s recent call outs, Woodley looked for the ‘money fights.’ First calling out Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre, the new champion left one particularly rampant contender snubbed. Stephen Thompson, fresh off wins over former champ Johny Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald, did not even get a sniff in terms of being next in line.

WonderboyWoodley

The acrobatic ‘Wonderboy’ left behind a string of world kickboxing title when he started MMA back in 2010. Thompson was immediately pegged for UFC success when he debuted with a soul-crushing first round knockout of Dan Stittgen in 2012. His decision loss to Matt Brown would be his only defeat to date, and Thompson has since built a seven fight head of steam. Coming of age against MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 89 would surely score ‘Wonderboy’ a shot at the title, or at least that’s what he and his followers believed.

With Woodley’s decision to turn down Thompson has come some serious fire over social media. Check out the comments left on ‘T-Wood’s’ Facebook page before we show the response from the champion:

“Got that belt…now hes afraid to defend it against the number 1 guy. What a punk. Cant avoid Thompson forever.”

“Tyron Woodley Lucky for you the UFC has lost touch with respecting the integrity of the sport. If it really came down to who’s the true best, or even the best challenge for you, Stephen Thompson is it! Duck him all you want, it’s only a matter of time. Enjoy that strap while you have it.”

“You said you are the number one contender for the title fight, and now you say you can pic the fight for entertainment?

WTF stop ducking Wonderboy! He is now the number one contender, just like you when you wanted to fight Robbie !

So fight him!”

Obviously these were the most family friendly comments we could muster up, but you get the point. Taking to his official Instagram account, Woodley sent the following statement to those who are accusing him of being too choosy:

Look who is in the bottom left saying "I Got Next" after @nickdiaz209 beat #PaulDaley I'm not here by accident people. This is by design. Like it or not "I GOT NOW!" You can say what u like but I'm the #Undisputed @UFC Champion Of the World. Deal with it cause I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Funny how fans know exactly who I should fight, and who deserves the next shot. Not to mention selectively chose when you want this to be an entertainment and sport. Please put your work address below so I can show up to your jobs and tell you and your boss if you deserve a raise or who deserves it above you. How you should do your job, and repeat verbatim like a sound bite what I hear others say about you. Comical????????????????! Maybe you should focus on your career cause God got me. #Blessed #UFC #Champ #ChampCamp LINK in Bio!!

A photo posted by Tyron Woodley (@twooodley) on

Earlier this week the recently minted champ accused Diaz of being ‘too high’ to remember why they never fought in the Strikeforce days. He also said the Stockton brawler had ‘talked himself out of seven figures’ when he said Woodley didn’t deserve a fight with him. So it sounds as though it’s GSP or bust for ‘The Chosen One,’ but what if St-Pierre doesn’t come out of retirement?

WoodleyKO'edLawler2
Woodley claims the belt in dominant fashion after knocking out Robbie Lawler in round one at UFC 201…

Money or rankings, which s more important and why?

The post Tyron Woodley Responds To Accusations Of Ducking Wonderboy appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Tyron Woodley ‘Can’t Believe He’s The Best’ Without Fighting GSP

Hardly five days after he won the UFC welterweight title with a shocking first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler at July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Tyron Woodley is causing quite the shakeup at the top of one of the most talented divisions in fighting. ‘The Chosen One’ famously called out for a fight with Nick […]

The post Tyron Woodley ‘Can’t Believe He’s The Best’ Without Fighting GSP appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Hardly five days after he won the UFC welterweight title with a shocking first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler at July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Tyron Woodley is causing quite the shakeup at the top of one of the most talented divisions in fighting.

‘The Chosen One’ famously called out for a fight with Nick Diaz, or even better yet, all-time great former champion Georges St. Pierre, after his title-clinching win despite there being a clear-cut top contender in the form of Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

Amidst never-ending rumors of his UFC return, ‘GSP’ was quick to turn around and accept the fight, and Woodley reiterated that he’s already spoken to the legend during a recent episode of his aptly-named podcast ‘The Morning Wood’ (via FOX Sports):

“I’ve already spoken to the lineal champion, the No. 1 welterweight, the pound-for-pound one of the greatest in the sport. His interest is fighting me,” Woodley said. “Georges St-Pierre wants to fight me. And guess what? I want to fight him. There’s honor in it. If I’m going to put it on the line, risk it, I want to know that I at least had the opportunity to prove to myself that I am the best welterweight to ever grace the damn Octagon, and if he’s going to give me that chance, I can give a hell less.”

Woodley 201

It’s understandable as to why Woodley would want to test himself against the man who many feel is the greatest welterweight, and the trend of fighters looking for big paydays with top-selling names shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point. Yet with Thompson on an impressive seven-fight win streak and St. Pierre having been out of the game since his highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013, it’s also impossible not to wonder if ‘Wonderboy’ is clearly the best choice here.

That’s not how Woodley views it, however, as he insists his employers will agree to his title fight against St. Pierre:

“Georges St-Pierre definitely wants to fight me. I’ve had a conversation with Georges St-Pierre. He’s interested in the bout, and we’re going to make the bout happen.”

Woodley then appeared on last night’s UFC Tonight to reaffirm his belief that he simply cannot call himself the best welterweight in the world without having faced the legend who never lost his belt:

Again, an admirable goal to be sure, but if the bout does get signed, fans – and Thompson – are going to be angered by the outcome. ‘Wonderboy’ has argued that St. Pierre wouldn’t provide as much a challenge because he simply hasn’t fought in three years, and in a sense, he’s right.

There are also the impactful roadblocks of St. Pierre’s hardline stance against PED use, which is obviously being curbed in at least some capacity by the recent rash of USADA busts, and his big-money contract with Under Armor that conflicts with the UFC’s highly-criticized Reebok sponsorship deal.

No matter what fight gets booked, one thing has become clear: for a champion who supposedly can’t sell a pay-per-view on his own, Woodley is certainly dominated many of MMA’s headlines as of late.

The post Tyron Woodley ‘Can’t Believe He’s The Best’ Without Fighting GSP appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Tyron Woodley Explains Why He Doesn’t Want ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Fight

Newly minted UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley has received some criticism after winning the title this past weekend (July 30, 2016) at UFC 201, but not for his performance, as his first round knockout over Robbie Lawler was as definitive as it gets. Woodley, however, raised some eyebrows when he announced who […]

The post Tyron Woodley Explains Why He Doesn’t Want ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Fight appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Newly minted UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley has received some criticism after winning the title this past weekend (July 30, 2016) at UFC 201, but not for his performance, as his first round knockout over Robbie Lawler was as definitive as it gets. Woodley, however, raised some eyebrows when he announced who he’d like to fight next.

Showing no interest in facing off with the clear cut No. 1-contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Woodley instead said he’d like to fight retired former longtime champion Georges St. Pierre or returning fan favorite and former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz.
Speaking on yesterday’s edition of The MMA Hour, “The Chosen One” explain his reasoning for throwing out names like St. Pierre and Diaz:

“I want to say I’m the best in the world,” Woodley said. “Right now I’m the UFC welterweight champion of the world. People can say I’m the best in the world, but I’ve fought Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz is not a retired fighter. So, why not compete against Nick Diaz, who is definitely a top-five (fighter)? I feel like his brother is finally cashing in on that big payday, but I do believe Nick Diaz has brought enough attention to the sport, raised enough eyebrows, put enough butts in the seats, sold enough pay-per-view buys. Maybe he deserves — since we’re using this world ‘deserves’ so much — maybe he deserves to cash out, and that’s why I made a suggestion for UFC 202. It’s three weeks away, I’m in great shape, and I know he’s training with his brother getting him ready for his fight.

“Secondly, Georges St-Pierre is the best of all-time. I can say I’m better than Georges, but I’ve not competed against him so I can’t really make that bold statement. If Georges St-Pierre decides that he wants to come back and he’s interested in fighting me, which he is, that’s going to be my No. 1 pick.

“But in hindsight I would like to fight both of them. I would like to prepare myself, get through Georges St-Pierre, shock the world once again, they say that I’m the best in the world, and then after that I would like to fight Nick Diaz as well. Because (after) those two fights, nobody can ever say I’m not one of the best welterweights on the planet Earth. If I knock out Robbie Lawler — who was the goliath of the weight division, everybody was thinking he was so invincible and unbeatable — and if I knock out GSP and Nick Diaz, I pretty much cemented myself in the UFC Hall of Fame.”

As far as Thompson goes, Woodley says his words may have come back to bite him. “Wonderboy”, who is has scored back-to-back dominant wins over former champion Johny Hendricks and top contender Rory MacDonald, had previously said that he’d rather fight Lawler. Now, Woodley is willing to grant him that wish:
“Also, Wonderboy’s words just bit him in the butt. I didn’t put these words in his mouth. He said that Robbie Lawler would take this fight. He felt that the fans would want to watch Robbie Lawler fight against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, that it would be a more exciting fight, that I would fade in the later rounds and he felt like Robbie Lawler was going to take it home.

“When he makes those statements, and you’re not the pay-per-view buy, you’re not the money fight, you’re not the (guy who) people are going to be jumping off the wall buying pay-per-views to watch Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ fight — not to say in his career that won’t happen, he’s an exceptional fighter, he’s beaten two phenomenal athletes back-to-back — but when he said those words out of his mouth, he wrote a check his ass couldn’t cash. So now he’ll get his chance to fight Robbie Lawler and I’ll go out and I’ll prove I’m the very, very best in the world by fighting the Hall of Famers.”

Do you agree with Woodley chasing the ‘money fight’, or should a champion face off with the No. 1 contender?

The post Tyron Woodley Explains Why He Doesn’t Want ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Fight appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Tyron Woodley Calls Out Nick Diaz For ‘Money Fight’ At UFC 202

Continuing the jaw-dropping streak of UFC champions losing their belt by brutal stoppage, new welterweight champion Tyron Woodley put a stamp on his title victory when he knocked out Robbie Lawler with one massive punch in the main event of last night’s (Sat., July 30, 2016) UFC 201 from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. […]

The post Tyron Woodley Calls Out Nick Diaz For ‘Money Fight’ At UFC 202 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Continuing the jaw-dropping streak of UFC champions losing their belt by brutal stoppage, new welterweight champion Tyron Woodley put a stamp on his title victory when he knocked out Robbie Lawler with one massive punch in the main event of last night’s (Sat., July 30, 2016) UFC 201 from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

After the bout, Woodley appeared on the post-fight show on FOX Sports 1, where top-ranked welterweight contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was auspiciously a co-host for the evening. With two straight wins over Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks, it’s largely perceived that “Wonderboy” would receive the next shot, something he predictably called out for while interviewing Woodley:

“That was a first round finish, and I know you’re not injured. What are the chances we get it on in November my friend?”

But while “Wonderboy” wants to fight Woodley at the UFC’s New York debut event of UFC 205 in November, the new champ has other plans. He’s said he’s looking for a big money fight with a certain returning fan favorite instead:

Woodley took a jab at Thompson by citing his preference to fight Lawler rather than him, and said he would rather get a more lucrative bout with longtime veteran Nick Diaz, who returns from suspension next month, at August’s UFC 202:

“Well this is what I think, I think that you say you wanted to fight Robbie Lawler, and you’ll get an opportunity to fight Robbie Lawler, because who I wanna fight now is, I think now Nick Diaz comes off of suspension in two days, he’s a money fight. I’ve been in this game, I’m an O.G., I wanna make the big dough, so if he wants to fight August with his brother Nate Diaz, I think me and him can show down at that event. I’m uninjured, August, I’m ready to go, 202, let’s make the money. I think he’s deserved it, I think he’s put enough butts in the seats, he deserves to make that payday, so let’s go get it.”

Thompson wouldn’t stop pressing the issue, however, issuing a bit of a half-hearted congratulations to Woodley before proclaiming he could beat both Woodley and Diaz:

“I know I got your number. I know you count on Nick Diaz; I know I can beat both of you guys. I’m just saying man, come on, you gotta give it to me!”

Woodley had the perfect response for that, stating that “Wonderboy “ will have his chance after he gets his big payday and Thompson fights some lower-ranked ‘young buck’ contenders:

“You’ll get your chance after I go make this money. You and the rest of the ‘young bucks’ can scrap each other up; Gastelum and Magny, I’m gonna go get that money.”

The post Tyron Woodley Calls Out Nick Diaz For ‘Money Fight’ At UFC 202 appeared first on LowKick MMA.