Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is finally getting his shot at UFC gold, and he couldn’t be happier about it. Earlier today we reported that UFC President Dana White revealed in an interview with UFC.com that the No. 2-ranked welterweight will get the first shot at newly crowned 170-pound king Tyron Woodley: “Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is going
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is finally getting his shot at UFC gold, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
Earlier today we reported that UFC President Dana White revealedin an interview with UFC.com that the No. 2-ranked welterweight will get the first shot at newly crowned 170-pound king Tyron Woodley:
“Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is going to fight for the 170-pound title and then we’ll see what happens with Nick and Nate.”
Thompson didn’t waste any time to take to his official Facebook page to thank the UFC President for his long-awaited shot at UFC glory:
“BOOYAH!!!!! Thank you Dana White! Thank you UFC! Extreme Thank you to all the fans that supported me and this title shot! Time to get to work and bring that belt home!!!!!”
Thompson (13-1) is riding an extremely impressive seven-fight win streak, most recently taking home a unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Rory MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 89 after a five round war with the Canadian star.
It seems ‘Wonderboy’s’ efforts have been enough to earn him the nod for the next shot at the gold, rather than Woodley taking the ‘money fight’ against Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz that he’s been heavily campaigning for over the past few weeks.
No date has yet been given for the contest, but stay with LowKick for the latest on Thompson and Woodley, as well as the potential clash between the two welterweight studs.
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
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.
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.
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.
With news arriving today that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was beginning the USADA testing process, the MMA world is expectedly taking that as one of the more clear-cut signs GSP is returning since he left the sport behind in 2013. And with the announcement, speculation about just whom St. Pierre could meet in his return
With news arriving today that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was beginning the USADA testing process, the MMA world is expectedly taking that as one of the more clear-cut signs GSP is returning since he left the sport behind in 2013.
And with the announcement, speculation about just whom St. Pierre could meet in his return is about to reach an all-time high.
There’s a possible welterweight title bout with new champion Tyron Woodley, who called St. Pierre out for the UFC’s New York debut at UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden this November, but in a revealing recent interview with Bloody Elbow, St. Pierre said he might actually be re-matching the other man Woodley called out after winning the belt, returning bad boy Nick Diaz:
“I have no problem with Nate. It seems to me to me like it’s Nick Diaz that is running for another shot at me. I wouldn’t mind, I’m not afraid of Nick Diaz, I’ll tell you. I am telling you right now: If it’s what the fans want to see, I’m in.”
Asked if Diaz would then be his first fight back due to the lengthy history between them, St. Pierre proclaimed he didn’t care. After beating the Stockton MMA pioneer, who only just got reinstated from his latest marijuana-related suspension for a controversial drug test failure during his UFC 183 loss to Anderson Silva, so easily at 2013’s UFC 158, St. Pierre described a bad taste left in his mouth because he knows he could do better:
“I don’t care if it’s the first, or second, or third. If they want me to fight Nick Diaz it would be my pleasure. I don’t mind, I am not afraid of Nick Diaz, I beat him last time, and I’ll beat even worse, I’ll beat him way worse next time that I’ll fight him.
“I beat him last time easily, but I was not happy – it’s one of these fights that I’m not happy with. Because I didn’t feel like I gave enough, for different reasons. It left me angry that fight, when I look back at it – maybe I won, but for some reason it left me angry and I feel like I could have done so much better.”
There’s no question St. Pierre vs. Diaz II is another fight fans would want to see run back, even if the first bout ended in extremely one-sided fashion for GSP. There are legitimate question marks about where both fighters are after their respective periods of inactivity, but there are no questions about the top-level drawing power of both men.
St. Pierre knows that, and he wants to put on the best fight possible for the fans. He also knows that he can still take on the best fighters in the world, and after a lengthy hiatus away from the daily grind of MMA, he claims to be in the best shape ever – both mentally and physically.
That’s why he’s nearly ready to showcase his skills in an effort to leave everything in the Octagon and have no regrets:
“Yeah that’s why I’m doing it. I don’t want things that I regret in life, and things that I have not done – and I don’t want to at 80 years wake up, and tell myself: ‘Oh I was on top of my shape and skills and I didn’t do it.’ If I come back and I lose, at least I know I did everything I should have done, I have no regrets, I’ll be happy. I can die happy. If I never come back, and I’ll tell myself I should have done this, I should have done that – I don’t want to have regrets.”
It’s been almost three years since we’ve seen all-time great former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre step into the Octagon. The legendary record-holder left the grueling grind of MMA behind after a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, vacating the belt due to personal reasons. He’s done little more than
It’s been almost three years since we’ve seen all-time great former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre step into the Octagon.
The legendary record-holder left the grueling grind of MMA behind after a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, vacating the belt due to personal reasons. He’s done little more than merely tease his potential return in the time since, but recently there have been noteworthy signs he would finally lace up the four ounce gloves yet again.
Citing a need to get his Under Armor sponsorship deal in accord with the UFC’s own apparel agreement with Reebok, St. Pierre told Ariel Helwani that a return was all but imminent on a recent episode of “The MMA Hour.” There are also the concerns over the promotion’s uncertain future under new ownership group WME-IMG, who purchased the UFC for $4 billion only days after the supposed blockbuster UFC 200.
A third aspect of St. Pierre’s return, the overarching use of performance-enhancing drugs in fighting, was also at the forefront of his semi-retirement and whether it would become official or not. In the last year, the UFC has implemented new and stringent drug-testing in conjunction with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that is catching fighters using banned substances of many kinds at an alarming pace.
So it seems the champ is slowly but surely overcoming the obstacles to his official return. A clear example of that is the fact that GSP revealed that he has kickstarted his return by beginning the process of entering into the USADA testing pool in an interview with Bloody Elbow:
“I want to. My agent is negotiating with the UFC, they had an offer, we made a counteroffer, you know that’s how business goes. And then we heard a day after that UFC sold for $4 billion dollars. So we waited for a few days, to see what was going on, because even some of the employees were afraid of losing their job – even some of the high ranking people in the UFC were afraid. We wanted to let the management to take care of their own company first, and then see what happens.
“Now we’re talking again and I’m starting the USADA process to be tested, I’m starting it Aug 10. in Las Vegas. Because to be eligible to fight you need to be tested.”
GSP was questioned about the controversial exemption Brock Lesnar was given when he returned to the UFC to face Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 200, where he ultimately won but failed two drug tests (both in and out-of competition) for the estrogen blocker clomiphene. Because of his strong anti-PED stance, St. Pierre said he didn’t want to cut any corners as Lesnar did:
“Yeah exactly, but he had a free pass, I think it was an exemption of a month or something like that. But me, I don’t want to be an exception, because I was very outspoken about Performance Enhancing Drugs. It would be bad for my reputation if I would have an exemption – I don’t want to have a free pass, I want to be like everybody else. That’s why I’ll be starting the process Aug 10. I don’t have any fight yet, but it’s gonna happen now, because I’m getting tested, if I’m getting tested it’s for a reason.”
Several high-profile fights have been teased for GSP, from a middleweight title bout with Michael Bisping to a welterweight title fight with Tyron Woodley. Nothing is official as of yet, and while St. Pierre stated he does want to return, he also had to focus on the much-discussed topic of fighter treatment and pay in the UFC from the top down:
“Yeah. I would like to say, they need to make sure they take care and negotiate the problems. You know, I have a very good agent with me. The fighters, they complain they’re not getting paid a lot, they get exploited sometimes; The UFC runs a business, but it’s also the fault of a lot of the fighters – they accept any fight, they will sign anything. They have to look at their career as a business as well. They have to hire some confident people to do that job.
“I’m an athlete, my job is not negotiating, it’s not my field of expertise. I’m an emotional guy – it’s normal, a lot of athletes are, and we’re very susceptible to get our ego cut because of that. Dana White came out very often in public saying I’m this and that; I’m sure it’s also to play with my ego, to make me, for example, come out of retirement and say ‘Oh ok, I’ll fight for peanuts.’ No, I’m not like that. I know the game.
“That’s how it is, and I will never blame a fighter if he doesn’t fight me because he takes care of his own interest first, and prioritize the interests of his family first, that’s completely normal.”
Some strong words and opinion from the former champ, who seems to want a MMA return while simultaneously wanting to be a voice for fighters he feels have been treated poorly for all too long.
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
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.”
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.”
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
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.
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:
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?
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?
