Stephen Thompson: Woodley Wanted To Fight Everybody But Me

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After the thrilling co-main event at UFC 205, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson were instantly poised to rematch. The result of their back-and-forth burner in NYC was a majority draw, as entertaining as it was close. ‘Wonderboy’ had enjoyed a ‘dark horse’ status heading in to his first UFC title fight, with many picking the flashy striker to get the win. As it turned out, ‘The Chosen One’ delivered, managing to keep the pace over five rounds. Opting for his volume strikes throughout the bout, Thompson put in an equally game and gallant showing.

It wasn’t long before Woodley was talking about other fights, though. Facing off with Michael Bisping, the welterweight champion revealed plans for a middleweight title fight. Discussing a ‘money fight’ with Nick Diaz or Conor McGregor, Woodley also teased a tilt against Demian Maia. Momentarily, at least, it seemed ‘Wonderboy’ might get snubbed. Similarly to the lead up to UFC 205, Woodley himself announced the rematch at UFC 209, days before the promotion made it official.

Wonderboy’s Thoughts

Speaking since the confirmation of the rematch, Stephen Thompson discusses Tyron Woodley’s latest statements. After being called ‘entitled,’ and engaging in a Twitter beef, ‘Wonderboy’ gives his own, typically measured, version of trash talk. Here’s what the umber one contender told MMAJunkie.com:

“There’s going to be no doubt in everybody’s mind who the winner of that fight is going to be, and that’s going to be me.”

“He wants to fight everybody else but me is what it seems like,” Thompson said. “We did fight to a draw last time, which, in my eyes, we might as well have not even fought at all. It almost seems like he’s happy with a draw, and he’s OK with it. In my eyes, as a champion, I wouldn’t be happy with that.”

“I Fight For Honor & Glory”

“I know what it feels like to be out there with him, and going back and watching that last fight, I didn’t throw everything I know I can throw,” he said. “I was a little hesitant, didn’t do a lot of switching sides, didn’t throw the kicks that I normally throw. Tyron Woodley hasn’t seen the best Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. know I can hit him, and I can hit him with some power.”

“I fight for the honor and the glory, and I didn’t win that fight,” he said. “It was a draw, and I was a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t give it 110 percent, which motivates me more to train as hard as I can for when I step out there again. I’ve got his number, man. Next time we step out there, I can just go out there and do my thing.”

UFC 209 Fight Card

Woodley vs. Thompson 2 will headline the UFC 209 card on March 4, 2017. The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada plays host. Here’s how the UFC 209 fight card is stacking up so far:

MAIN CARD

Tyron Woodley (C) vs. Stephen Thompson – welterweight title fight

Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem

UNDERCARD

Landon Vannata vs. David Teymur

Mirsad Bektic vs. Darren Elkins

Todd Duffee vs. Mark Godbeer

Paul Craig vs. Tyson Pedro

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Brian Stann: ‘Tyron Woodley Rematch is Dangerous for Wonderboy’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpBmP7KwHis

The title rematch between welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson is set. The two warriors will trade leather once again at UFC 209 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.

Wh…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpBmP7KwHis

The title rematch between welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson is set. The two warriors will trade leather once again at UFC 209 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.

When “The Chosen One” and “Wonderboy” first met inside the Octagon at UFC 205, it was five rounds of chaos. Thompson was blasted by some hard punches and the end appeared to be near when he was caught in a guillotine choke. Thompson survived and stood in the fight until the final horn sounded.

When the score totals were read, Bruce Buffer initially called Woodley the winner. It was an error on his part, and he later announced the result was a majority draw. The champion looked dumbfounded and believed he won the fight.

Woodley didn’t like the sound of giving Thompson another chance at the gold. He called for super fights with Georges St. Pierre, Nick Diaz, and middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) color commentator and FOX Sports analyst Brian Stann took to his SiriusXM show, “Toe-2-Toe with Brian Stann” to defend the 170-pound champion for wanting big money fights:

“When T-Wood first won the belt, he talked about money fights. Then when he had a draw against ‘Wonderboy,’ he talked then about money fights. And people get frustrated each and every time and you guys have heard me come on the show and basically defend him saying, ‘hey guys look, it’s worth a shot for him.’ If that’s what he wants, he understands the risk. He understands the risk to his brand and his fans and that a lot of the hardcore fans who pay attention to fighting, keep up with the news, they’re gonna get frustrated. They don’t wanna hear a champion say, ‘I want only money fights.’ They wanna hear the champion say, ‘who’s next?'”

Despite showing his toughness in the first encounter, Stann believes Thompson is at a disadvantage in the rematch:

“I definitely felt like more was learned, more was figured out about the opponent for Tyron Woodley vice ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. I think Tyron Woodley realized how much control he was able to exhibit on the ground and I think he obviously realized how much power he has. He was able to feel what ‘Wonderboy’ had to offer as well. So I think it’s a dangerous rematch for ‘Wonderboy.'”

If Tyron Woodley Can Beat “Wonderboy”, Will The People Accept Him As Their Champ?

To put it bluntly, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley rubs people the wrong way. Whether it’s for lack of personality, big money fight call outs, or playing the race card, for some reason or another he hasn’t exactly been a big smash hit with the fans. Until now…maybe?

The post If Tyron Woodley Can Beat “Wonderboy”, Will The People Accept Him As Their Champ? appeared first on Cagepotato.

Tough Crowd

To put it concisely, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley rubs people the wrong way. Whether it’s for lack of personality, big money fight call outs, or playing the race card, for some reason or another he hasn’t exactly been a big smash hit with the fans. Until now…maybe?

One of the biggest critique of Tyron Woodley is that he’s been ducking fights. He recently fought the much touted Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson to a majority draw at UFC 205. While it didn’t settle much on the scorecard – it did show that he could bang with the karate phenom, almost finishing him in Rd 4 . Now it seems after failed negotiations for a super fight with middleweight champ Michael Bisping, the two will meet again at UFC 209.

In a recent episode on his podcast “The Morning Wood”, he revealed that him and Wonderboy would again be sharing the octagon on March 4th.

“March 4th, UFC 209 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at what I believe to be the T-Mobile Center, you will see ‘Wonderboy’ get the worst ass-whooping of his life,” Woodley said. “And hopefully all of his fans and all of his over-entitlement deceases at that moment and we can do a eulogy for it.”

“From this point forward, I’m going to commit to taking this dude out in the most embarrassing and worst fashion,” Woodley said. “And with that said, that last fight is in the dust. I ain’t going to cry over spilled milk. I ain’t going to cry over what round, who did what, where, when, where. That fight is in the dust. It’s done, it’s over with.

“This is a new fight, the most important fight of my life, not only to just continue to be the champion and to keep my belt — I can’t allow myself to lose to him and what he stands for and what his fans stand for, and this overly-entitled group of individuals who are in mixed martial arts. I can’t let myself lose to that. So with that said, let’s get to work and let’s get this party on the go.”

So the real question is – even if he beats Wonderboy in March, will people finally accept Tyron Woodley as their champ? Probably not. Let’s face it, the fans want to see him lose. That’s why they’re going to hail whoever he fights next as the person to dethrone him. Don’t get me wrong, Demian Maia and Donald Cerrone are absolute beasts and could very well do the job if Wonderboy can’t take care of business, but I think it’s the case that most fans just can’t connect with the welterweight champ.

To a certain degree he reminds me of Dominick Cruz. Before he was a fan favorite, he was a guy that wasn’t very much liked. “The California Kid” Urijah Faber was definitely the more popular of the two with his surfer vibe and coloquios attitude. Cruz was a bit more serious, more introverted, more in his head. His turning point really happened after his injury, he became one of the best analyst in the game, and started to inspire people with his never say die attitude. His under 2 minute K.O. of Takeya Mizugaki didn’t hurt either.

In my assessment, Woodley will have to keep that belt for a long time for people to really come round to him. At the end of the day you can’t deny someone who keeps on winning (insert Floyd Mayweather exception here).

What do you guys think of the welterweight champ, and how do you think he can turn things around?

Lionel Harris-Spence is a writer, filmmaker, and functioning alcoholic. You can catch him screaming obscenities at flat screens on fight night.

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Archives: Thompson Says He’s Got Tyron Woodley’s Number (2017)

Tonight, both Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson will be in action four years after the publication of the following article. Woodley will look to leave no doubt that he is better than Jake Paul while Thompson will be competing against Belal Muhammad at UFC Vegas 45. The two also made headlines earlier this week for having some level of involvement in the Netflix series Cobra Kai.

As far as their own personal history goes, Woodley and Thompson fought one another in the UFC two times. The first encounter at UFC 209 resulted in a majority draw. Prior to their UFC 209 rematch, which Woodley would go on to win, Thompson believed he had “The Chosen One’s Number.”

The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 10, 2017, 11:52 PM]

Headline: Stephen Thompson: ‘I’ve Got Tyron Woodley’s Number’

Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.

The welterweight title rematch between champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson is finally official. After trading barbs and talk of big money fights, the two finally reached a deal to scrap once again at UFC 209.

“Wonderboy” and “The Chosen One” went to war at UFC 205 in New York City in November. Thompson took an incredible amount of punishment, but was never out of the fight. They went the distance and the fight was ruled a majority draw. Both men earned a “Fight of the Night” bonus.

Woodley still argues that he was the clear winner in their first encounter and that in the rematch, he’ll prove that he is the better fighter. Thompson has other plans (via MMAJunkie Radio):

“There’s going to be no doubt in everybody’s mind who the winner of that fight is going to be, and that’s going to be me.”

Before agreeing to fight “Wonderboy” again, Woodley tried to secure a super fight with Nick Diaz. When that didn’t materialize, he aimed for middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Thompson criticized Woodley for trying to settle for a draw.

“He wants to fight everybody else but me is what it seems like. We did fight to a draw last time, which, in my eyes, we might as well have not even fought at all. It almost seems like he’s happy with a draw, and he’s OK with it. In my eyes, as a champion, I wouldn’t be happy with that.”

Thompson believes he has the champion figured out. The challenger is confident that he will walk away with only his hand raised and gold around his waist.

“I know I can hit him, and I can hit him with some power. I’ve got his number, man. Next time we step out there, I can just go out there and do my thing.”

UFC 209 takes place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.

Continue Reading Archives: Thompson Says He’s Got Tyron Woodley’s Number (2017) at MMA News.

UFC Cancels Fight Pass Card Set For March 3rd

According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC has canceled a UFC Fight Pass card that was set to take place on March 3, 2016 from Las Vegas Nevada, just one day prior to March 4’s UFC 209. The promotion didn’t give a reason for scrapping the event, although the card had yet

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According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC has canceled a UFC Fight Pass card that was set to take place on March 3, 2016 from Las Vegas Nevada, just one day prior to March 4’s UFC 209.

The promotion didn’t give a reason for scrapping the event, although the card had yet to be filled out with fights.

This isn’t the first time the UFC has cancelled an event this year, as the promotion announced late last year that it would be cancelling UFC 208, which was scheduled for Jan. 21, 2016 in Anaheim, California. The event has since been moved to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will take place on Feb 11, 2016. An inaugural women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germain de Randamie will headline that card.

The UFC cancelling multiple events less than a month into the new year is certainly an interesting topic especially given the fact that the promotion is currently lacking big stars. It is expected that new owners WME-IMG will look to cut down on the number of events held per year and perhaps this is the first step in doing so.

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UFC Cancels March 3rd Event in Las Vegas Prior to UFC 209

March 3 event has been canned, on what would have been first part of double header on the eve of UFC 209.

What was first reported on MMAjunkie on Tuesday has also been confirmed by UFC.

While UFC Fight Night 106 will no longer go ahead; it is worth noting that no details (venue, fight details) were confirmed for the card. No reason has been given by the promotion for the cancellation.

In addition to the scrapping of this event, UFC 208 was also canceled after confirmation of a date [January 21] and venue [Anaheim, California]. UFC 208 has been subsequently adjusted to Feb. 11 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Anaheim will host an event on August 5, however.

There is no speculation that UFC 209 on March 4 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena will be affected, with details of a headlining, rematch between welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Steven Thompson confirmed on Monday. “Wonderboy” spoke to Fox Sports, confirming that he had agreed to the bout before Christmas:

“I just signed the contract that was put in front of me. I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t beg for it. We signed it and sent it right back.

We didn’t negotiate more money or anything. Signed it and sent it back.

“He’s got the bout agreement and he’s probably looking at it right now. UFC wants this fight to happen. We just have unfinished business. As a champion for me, if it was the other way around and I was in Tyron’s shoes, I just couldn’t feel right moving on from that last fight. It was a draw. I didn’t win and there’s a lot of fans that would see this as unfinished business and I just can’t leave it that way. That’s not who I am.

“As a champion, he should be taking this fight because we have not yet determined the winner of it.”

Woodley’s subsequent confirmation of the date has all but tied up an eagerly anticipated 2nd fight between the two, following the [majority] draw decision at UFC 205 which saw the champion retain his belt.

“T-Wood” stated (Via Fox Sports):

“March 4, UFC 209 in Las Vegas, Nevada, what I believe to be the T-Mobile Center, you will see “Wonderboy” get the worst ass whooping of his life.

“Hopefully all his fans and all his over entitlement will cease at that moment and we can do a eulogy for it.”

Fans eager to watch the first event of 2017’s roster will not have to wait long for the upcoming “UFC Fight Night 103: Rodriguez vs. Penn”. The event is scheduled to take place this Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona. You can watch the prelims and on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, before the main card which will air on FS1.