On this week’s episode of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), UFC Welterweight Title contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson showed off his acting chops.
Featured above is the “Fighter Charades” segment from this week’s…
https://youtu.be/u4g5JTNweog
On this week’s episode of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), UFC Welterweight Title contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson showed off his acting chops.
Featured above is the “Fighter Charades” segment from this week’s show, which saw Wonderboy team up with show analyst and his next Octagon opponent, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley to take on fellow FS1 analysts Kenny Florian and UFC Light Heavyweight Championn Daniel Cormier.
In the segment, Wonderboy does spot-on impressions of a number of fighters, most notably Lyoto Machida and Conor McGregor, who he impersonated by doing his infamous post-fight “Billionaire Strut.”
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson meets Tyron Woodley in a rematch for the UFC Welterweight Title at UFC 209 on Saturday, March 4th.
Tyron Woodley’s road to UFC glory started back in February 2013. Knocking out Jay Heiron with a brutal flurry of punches, the former Strikeforce title challenger arrived in style. Although he’d go on to mixed results in his next four fights, ‘The Chosen One’ would score some big scalps. Victories over Carlos Condit, Kelvin Gastelum
Tyron Woodley’s road to UFC glory started back in February 2013. Knocking out Jay Heiron with a brutal flurry of punches, the former Strikeforce title challenger arrived in style. Although he’d go on to mixed results in his next four fights, ‘The Chosen One’ would score some big scalps. Victories over Carlos Condit, Kelvin Gastelum and Dong Hyun Kim led to Woodley’s first title fight. Facing Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, ‘T-Wood’ came of age with a thunderous trademark KO. As the belt was placed in Woodley’s possession, a bout with Stephen Thompson was quickly talked about.
Although the top ranked contender, ‘Wonderboy’ getting a title shot was uncertain, at first. Woodley was eyeing fights with Georges St-Pierre & Nick Diaz, following the current trend of ‘money fights.’ This had some MMA fans irate, and Woodley discussed the racism he’d been subjected to over social media. Taking it a step further before the eventually scheduled Thompson fight, Woodley all-out claimed the UFC & fans of MMA were racist, and pointing out double standards. Following their thrilling bout at UFC 205, Woodley and Thompson will dance again, and the tune from ‘The Chosen One’ is much the same.
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Woodley’s Latest Comments
Appearing during an interview session with ESPN, Tyron Woodley said he’s the ‘worst treated UFC champion’ because of his complexion. Ahead of the rematch at UFC 209, the debate is getting very tense:
“Let’s put the cards on the table,” Woodley said. “Real is real. If I was a different complexion, I think people and fans would treat me a different way. Demetrious Johnson, African-American male, completely a Tasmanian devil. Why don’t he have the big endorsements? Why isn’t he making the most money?”
“The second [former light heavyweight champion] Jon Jones slips on a banana peel — granted, he’s his own worst enemy — but they can’t wait to throw him under the bus. I can point out clear facts that no other champion has been treated like me. I’m not saying (the UFC) supports him more, but (Thompson) sure as heck has some fans that cross the line quite a bit of the time, which is not him. I’m not saying that’s him. I do respect him.”
Continued…
“People don’t like to hear it, but it’s the culture of our sport. We’re dealing with a different set of rules. The UFC fans in general, we go through niches, we go through genres of people we like to fight. This is a genre where they want to see a clean-cut guy like (Thompson) doing a razzle-dazzle, super flashy fighting. Before then, it was guys that would fight to the death. Some people say that’s race in sport. The second I bring up race in sport, I’m immediately race baiting,”
“Going into (the first) fight, I feel like Wonderboy was promoted as he was the champion. I’m the champion. I knocked out the baddest welterweight in the world (Robbie Lawler) in record breaking time. And I don’t get the respect that I deserve. So with that said, don’t have him walk out with American flag like I’m from a different country. Don’t have him paraded around. Don’t have everything revolved around him.”
Things definitely got heated during “UFC Tonight” on Wednesday, as both welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson joined the show.
The two will meet for the title later this year at UFC 209 in Las Vegas.
And as you may have guessed, it got pretty heated with both sitting within inches of one another.
The biggest disagreement between the two came over the scoring in their first fight, which was declared a majority draw. That meant Woodley left Madison Square Garden with the title still around his waist.
“Round three is the only controversial round,” Woodley said. “I watched it several times and I thought I won it.”
Thompson responded, saying “Second, third and fifth. I thought I won round three.”
As for what Woodley plans on doing differently, the champion wants to show off his power.
“I will make some adjustments,” Woodley said. “He was hesitant in the last fight because he got cracked with the right hand and I’m going to give him a few more those to think about.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdI3x3luweI
Things definitely got heated during “UFC Tonight” on Wednesday, as both welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson joined the show.
The two will meet for the title later this year at UFC 209 in Las Vegas.
And as you may have guessed, it got pretty heated with both sitting within inches of one another.
The biggest disagreement between the two came over the scoring in their first fight, which was declared a majority draw. That meant Woodley left Madison Square Garden with the title still around his waist.
“Round three is the only controversial round,” Woodley said. “I watched it several times and I thought I won it.”
Thompson responded, saying “Second, third and fifth. I thought I won round three.”
As for what Woodley plans on doing differently, the champion wants to show off his power.
“I will make some adjustments,” Woodley said. “He was hesitant in the last fight because he got cracked with the right hand and I’m going to give him a few more those to think about.”
Things definitely got heated during “UFC Tonight” on Wednesday, as both welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson joined the show.
The two will meet for the title later this year at UFC 209 in Las Vegas.
And as you may have guessed, it got pretty heated with both sitting within inches of one another.
The biggest disagreement between the two came over the scoring in their first fight, which was declared a majority draw. That meant Woodley left Madison Square Garden with the title still around his waist.
“Round three is the only controversial round,” Woodley said. “I watched it several times and I thought I won it.”
Thompson responded, saying “Second, third and fifth. I thought I won round three.”
As for what Woodley plans on doing differently, the champion wants to show off his power.
“I will make some adjustments,” Woodley said. “He was hesitant in the last fight because he got cracked with the right hand and I’m going to give him a few more those to think about.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdI3x3luweI
Things definitely got heated during “UFC Tonight” on Wednesday, as both welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson joined the show.
The two will meet for the title later this year at UFC 209 in Las Vegas.
And as you may have guessed, it got pretty heated with both sitting within inches of one another.
The biggest disagreement between the two came over the scoring in their first fight, which was declared a majority draw. That meant Woodley left Madison Square Garden with the title still around his waist.
“Round three is the only controversial round,” Woodley said. “I watched it several times and I thought I won it.”
Thompson responded, saying “Second, third and fifth. I thought I won round three.”
As for what Woodley plans on doing differently, the champion wants to show off his power.
“I will make some adjustments,” Woodley said. “He was hesitant in the last fight because he got cracked with the right hand and I’m going to give him a few more those to think about.”
Tyron Woodley will once again put his UFC welterweight title on the line against top contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, as the two are set to rematch in the main event of March 4’s UFC 209 from Las Vegas, Nevada. The two men first fought at UFC 205 last November, going back-and-forth for five rounds in
Tyron Woodley will once again put his UFC welterweight title on the line against top contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, as the two are set to rematch in the main event of March 4’s UFC 209 from Las Vegas, Nevada. The two men first fought at UFC 205 last November, going back-and-forth for five rounds in a bout that was ultimately deemed a majority draw.
While the rematch certainly makes sense, Woodley seemed to be more interested in ‘money fights’ with Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz rather than fighting Thompson again. In fact, Woodley thinks the UFC ‘missed’ an opportunity by not booking against Diaz at UFC 209:
“I think it’s a missed opportunity for the UFC to push someone that is a legend for the sport,” Woodley told MMAFighting.com. “An all-time top five welterweight, someone I saw a lot in Strikeforce and always, it was more of a respect thing that, I think someone who has done that much for the sport, it was getting to the point where the platform was higher than the paycheck, he probably should have been able to fight.”
Diaz hasn’t competed since 2015 when he lost a decision to Anderson Silva, although it was later changed to a no-contest after both men failed drug tests. The Stockton native tested positive for Marijuana metabolites, leading the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to hand him a fine as well as an 18-month suspension. He is now clear to fight, however.
Despite Woodley’s interest in fighting Diaz, he will have to set his focus on “Wonderboy”, as the fight is a done deal. “The Chosen One” knew he would have to share the Octagon with Thompson again at some point, although he didn’t feel as if it needed to be an immediate rematch:
“It’s my goal to be the best welterweight ever,” Woodley said. “I always knew I’d have to fight him again, but I didn’t feel obligated to have to fight him next. Even if I had held out, or took another fight, or he fought somebody else, I knew I’d have to fight him again, he’s a high-level guy and he got here for a reason so he’d probably beat the other person to get here. So I knew i would fight him again but I didn’t feel I had to fight him next.”
While Diaz is certainly a big star and a fan favorite, although he hasn’t won a fight since 2011. Should the Stockton native have received a title shot upon his return, or did the UFC make the right call by booking Woodley-Thompson II?
No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson will do battle in the co-main event of March 4’s UFC 209 for the interim 155-pound title, but the bout almost didn’t come to fruition, as Ferguson was dealing with contract issues with the UFC. The fight is now set, however, and “El
No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson will do battle in the co-main event of March 4’s UFC 209 for the interim 155-pound title, but the bout almost didn’t come to fruition, as Ferguson was dealing with contract issues with the UFC.
The fight is now set, however, and “El Cucuy” said that the promotion met his standards financially:
“They met my standards,” Ferguson told MMAjunkie Radio. “Khabib’s offer I threw right out the window immediately. That was some trashy kind of thing. But we’re good to good. We’re full swing ahead. … We worked out financial terms. I’ve earned my stripes in this division. I’ve put in my time. I’ve put in my work. I’ve put in my effort, especially when no fans were watching when I didn’t have cameras on me.
“I don’t need anybody to believe in me besides myself, because every single day I go in there and I beat myself up that was so I can go out there and I can kick some ass. I know what I’m worth and I know my numbers, and that dude’s padded record is nowhere near my contention, my type of fights that I’ve had and presented to the world.”
As far as the fight itself goes, it is undoubtedly one of the most competitive fights taking place in the foreseeable future, as Nurmagomedov possesses a perfect 24-0 record, while Ferguson is riding an impressive 10 fight win streak.
“El Cucuy”, however, feels as if he’s a ‘different animal’:
“I’m a whole completely different animal, and he’s never seen anyone as ferocious as me inside that octagon. I’m going to put fear in this kid. I can’t wait to slam this dude. I can’t wait to mop the mat with this guy.”
The two have gone back-and-forth in the media over the last few months, stirring up quite a rivalry. Ferguson even went as far as to compare “The Eagle” to a ‘stalker ex-girlfriend’:
“He’s telling me to go train and shut up?” Ferguson said. “I’m like, ‘Man, you talk too much already, son. You talk too much. You are looking at me and you responded in like 2.2 minutes, son. You’re worse than a stalker ex-girlfriend. You’re looking at me like a hawk, an eagle and I want you to do that because you’re going to be stressing about what I’m going to do.”
Which contender do you expect to come out on top in March?
