Tag: Stephen Thompson

Predicting Each UFC Champion By The End Of 2017

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is highly unpredictable and championship level MMA shares this sentiment. Simply put, anything can happen in a fight and we learned that throughout 2016, especially in the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. Specifically regarding title fights, we saw 10 new champions crowned in the UFC last year and

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Mixed martial arts (MMA) is highly unpredictable and championship level MMA shares this sentiment. Simply put, anything can happen in a fight and we learned that throughout 2016, especially in the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion.

Specifically regarding title fights, we saw 10 new champions crowned in the UFC last year and that’s not including the crowning of two interim titleholders. We have seen titles tossed around like hot potatoes and fighters that we never expected to reach the pinnacle with belts around their waists.

It’s certainly an interesting time in the sport of mixed martial arts and 2017 could potentially bring more of the same as the sport continues to evolve and the competition continues to elevate.

With that being said, take a look at who we predicted to be wearing each UFC title by the end of the year below:

Joanna Champ

Women’s Strawweight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Reigning UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has formed a tight grip on the 115-pound division and in the process she has become one of the promotion’s most dominant champions. The Polish striker has defended her title four consecutive times over the likes of Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, which is second most only behind longtime flyweight king Demetrious Johnson.

While Jedrzejczyk did face some adversity in her most recent fight against Kowalkiewicz at Nov. 12, 2016’s UFC 205, she has been relatively dominant throughout her title reign and she has appeared to improve each and every time out. She doesn’t have her next fight scheduled as of now, but I expect her to continue to improve on her dangerous skill set and end off 2017 with the strap still around her waist.

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Tyron Woodley Accepted ‘Wonderboy’ Rematch to ‘Shut Everybody Up’

woodley-thompson-faceoff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evr4WF22x4Y

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title will be on the line at UFC 209. Champion Tyron Woodley will once again do battle with Stephen Thompson inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4. The bout will serve as the event’s headliner.

Getting the rematch to come to fruition wasn’t easy. “The Chosen One” had been eyeing a big money fight with Nick Diaz. When that didn’t pan out, Woodley had his sights set on middleweight king Michael Bisping. Those plans fizzled out as well.

The 170-pound champion explained why he decided to have another go with “Wonderboy” (via BJPenn.com):

“You know it is like this. Demian Maia, Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping, Georges St-Pierre, those are all fights I will have in my career. While I am the champion it is important for me to have those fights because defeating all of those guys makes me undeniably the greatest welterweight who has ever fought in the Octagon. So obviously that is important to me. But, I am just trying to pick which fight is the best fight at the right time. You know I wasn’t one hundred percent sold that a rematch with “Wonderboy” was the best thing for me right now. But then I thought let’s do this rematch so that everybody can shut up and we can close this book and move on to another chapter.”

When the two clashed at UFC 205, the fight went the distance and the result was a majority draw. Woodley still feels the decision was off and he should’ve walked out of New York City as the winner.

“Demian Maia obviously, if I was in his position I would be highly upset because I would feel like I am getting the short end of the stick. I would feel like I deserve that title fight and he said it himself, as many people believe, that it wasn’t a draw at UFC 205 and that I won that fight. So now he has to sit in the pocket because of some New York judges, who were probably judging their first MMA fight ever. As you saw from the scorecards it was some really weird judging and on top of the judging, different referees would have stepped in and stopped that fight.”

woodley-thompson-faceoff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evr4WF22x4Y

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title will be on the line at UFC 209. Champion Tyron Woodley will once again do battle with Stephen Thompson inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4. The bout will serve as the event’s headliner.

Getting the rematch to come to fruition wasn’t easy. “The Chosen One” had been eyeing a big money fight with Nick Diaz. When that didn’t pan out, Woodley had his sights set on middleweight king Michael Bisping. Those plans fizzled out as well.

The 170-pound champion explained why he decided to have another go with “Wonderboy” (via BJPenn.com):

“You know it is like this. Demian Maia, Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping, Georges St-Pierre, those are all fights I will have in my career. While I am the champion it is important for me to have those fights because defeating all of those guys makes me undeniably the greatest welterweight who has ever fought in the Octagon. So obviously that is important to me. But, I am just trying to pick which fight is the best fight at the right time. You know I wasn’t one hundred percent sold that a rematch with “Wonderboy” was the best thing for me right now. But then I thought let’s do this rematch so that everybody can shut up and we can close this book and move on to another chapter.”

When the two clashed at UFC 205, the fight went the distance and the result was a majority draw. Woodley still feels the decision was off and he should’ve walked out of New York City as the winner.

“Demian Maia obviously, if I was in his position I would be highly upset because I would feel like I am getting the short end of the stick. I would feel like I deserve that title fight and he said it himself, as many people believe, that it wasn’t a draw at UFC 205 and that I won that fight. So now he has to sit in the pocket because of some New York judges, who were probably judging their first MMA fight ever. As you saw from the scorecards it was some really weird judging and on top of the judging, different referees would have stepped in and stopped that fight.”

Tyron Woodley Confirms UFC 209 Rematch With Stephen Thompson

UFC welterweight champion Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley has finally broken his silence on who his next opponent will be, revealing the news today (Monday, January 9, 2016) on his podcast The Morning Wood Show. Woodley stated that he’s been contemplating who he wants to step into the Octagon next these past few months, as he

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UFC welterweight champion Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley has finally broken his silence on who his next opponent will be, revealing the news today (Monday, January 9, 2016) on his podcast The Morning Wood Show.

Woodley stated that he’s been contemplating who he wants to step into the Octagon next these past few months, as he has had a plethora of options available to him to choose from:

“I’ve been trying to see to see who my next opponent is going to be,” Woodley said. “Either go up to fight Bisping or defend my belt whether it’s Maia, whether it’s Nick Diaz, whether it’s a rematch or whatever. I was kinda torn between opponents. It’s a great opportunity, it’s great that I’m in a position that so many people want to fight me or fight for the belt, I was kinda torn on what makes the most sense.”

The 170-pound champ would go on to state that No. 1-ranked UFC welterweight Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson’s recent comments as of late have gotten under his skin, as he went on social media stating that he’s waiting on Woodley to sign the bout agreement after posting a picture of the fight contract:

“Obviously we talk about this all the time, all these guys are someone I want to fight, but who’s the one that makes the most sense to fight right now? Then here recently last night I started seeing some stuff on Twitter. Wonderwoman, I want to call him Wonder- you-know-what,” Woodley said. “I saw Wonderboy ‘campaigning’ online like a childish women, showing a bout agreement saying ‘I’m waiting on you.’

“He had plenty of opportunities to say something, he saw the buzz between me and Bisping, so he wanted to try and get involved. It kind of annoyed me, it kind of annoyed me because it’s not what a fighter would do. Especially because it’s not a fighter who clearly was never in controversy of winning the fight, the only controversy was if I won the fight or if it was a draw. I don’t like the over-entitlement that Mrs. Wonderboy is displaying right now, it kind of got under my skin.”

Woodley would then reveal that Thompson’s actions upset him so much, that he’s decided to sign on the dotted line to throw-down with ‘Wonderboy’ once again on March 4th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at UFC 209:

“He got under my skin so much that I said ‘I’m just gonna go ahead and fight this dude.’ he got under my skin that bad that I don’t even care about the ration, the money, what fight makes most sense. You need to be careful what you ask for. Wonderboy, you want it? Come get it. You wanna fight? You wanna get done worst than what you did the first time? Some people gotta be real careful — “

What are your thoughts on Woodley finally agreeing to rematch Thompson at UFC 209? Who do you think takes it the second time around?

UFC 209 goes down live on pay-per-view (PPV) form the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4t, 2017.

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Stephen Thompson Waiting On Tyron Woodley To Sign UFC Contract

Top UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson signed up for a rematch with Tyron Woodley on December 20.

Now, as we sit early in January, “Wonderboy” is wondering where the UFC welterweight champion is.

Waiting on you @TWooodley pic.twitter.c…

stephen-thompson-presser

Top UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson signed up for a rematch with Tyron Woodley on December 20.

Now, as we sit early in January, “Wonderboy” is wondering where the UFC welterweight champion is.

Back in November, the two fought to a majority draw after Woodley has been declared the winner. Both talked about a rematch, but the champion has since set his sights on UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping or what he calls a “money-fight.”

Tyron Woodley Blasts Stephen Thompson, Threatens To Fight Demian Maia Instead

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley defended his belt against the No. 1 contender Stephen Thompson back on November 12th at UFC 205 and the two fighters had a great fight. It was a back and forth affair. However, the judges couldn’t pick a winner, and it was ruled a majority draw. Following the fight, UFC

The post Tyron Woodley Blasts Stephen Thompson, Threatens To Fight Demian Maia Instead appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley defended his belt against the No. 1 contender Stephen Thompson back on November 12th at UFC 205 and the two fighters had a great fight. It was a back and forth affair. However, the judges couldn’t pick a winner, and it was ruled a majority draw. Following the fight, UFC President Dana White stated that a rematch between the two fighters seemed likely.

Now, negations for a rematch is ongoing, and it’s been reported that the UFC wants to book the rematch at the upcoming UFC 209 event. There is one problem, and that’s Woodley, who has been actively campaigning for other fights besides a Thompson rematch. He stated that he would like to fight former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, and most recently, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. As a response, Thompson recently called the champion out on Twitter, revealing that the UFC offered him a fight contract with Woodley on Dec. 20 and that he signed his contract but is waiting on Woodley to make the fight official by signing his own contract.

This led to a Twitter war between the two.

These two are going to have to figure out a deal because the PPV event is only eight weeks away as it takes place on March 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Rumor: Two Huge Fights Headed For UFC 209 In Vegas

Las Vegas’ UFC 209 pay-per-view (PPV) could be getting a whole lot bigger. According to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC are closing in on inking two massive bouts to the PPV card in March. Helwani reports that bouts between top lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, as well as a welterweight title rematch between

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Las Vegas’ UFC 209 pay-per-view (PPV) could be getting a whole lot bigger.

According to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC are closing in on inking two massive bouts to the PPV card in March. Helwani reports that bouts between top lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, as well as a welterweight title rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson are on the promotion’s radar:

Woodley and Thompson initially met in the co-main event of UFC 205 from the Madison Square Garden Arena in New York City, in which the Fight Of The Night ended in a majority draw decision being read from the judges’ scorecards. Immediately after the contest talks of a rematch began to hit wind, and it seems that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Nurmagomedov is the most dominant lightweight in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) today, as he is currently undefeated in his fighting career with a staggering record of 24-0. Ferguson is currently on a record nine-fight win streak in the UFC’s 155-pound division, and is looking to propel himself into a title shot with a win over ‘The Eagle’.

Ali Abdelaziz, Nurmagomedov’s manager, took to Twitter to post a rather cryptic message to fight fans, posting a plethora of Russian flags along with a few smiley faces:

Abdelaziz was asked by fans what the Tweet meant, to which he responded with a series of Chicken emojis:

The chickens are in reference to Nurmagomedov’s post-fight interview from UFC 205, in which he called UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor a chicken for not having fought him yet:

“I want to fight with your (the UFC’s) chicken because this is the number one easy fight in lightweight division.”

McGregor’s head-coach, John Kavanagh, interestingly enough posted a picture of ‘The Notorious One’ getting some work done in the gym, despite the fact that the Irish champ stated he wanted to take some time off before returning to Octagon action to enjoy the birth of his first child:

The best way to become advanced is to drill the fundamental movements daily.

A video posted by Coach Kavanagh (@coach_kavanagh) on

As for Ferguson, he took to Twitter as well to tease an announcement to come regarding his Octagon return using the phrase ‘El Cucuy is coming’:

What are your thoughts fellow fight fans? What could all this mean?

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