Although it may not have been the era-defining knockout that many were expecting from him, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson put on arguably his greatest MMA performance when he thoroughly outclassed longtime contender Rory MacDonald in the main event of last night’s (Sat., June 18, 2016) UFC Fight Night 89 from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario,
Although it may not have been the era-defining knockout that many were expecting from him, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson put on arguably his greatest MMA performance when he thoroughly outclassed longtime contender Rory MacDonald in the main event of last night’s (Sat., June 18, 2016) UFC Fight Night 89 from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Thompson used his peerless striking speed, movement, and angles to pick MacDonald apart with a varied offense of side kicks, hook kicks, and at times, even his vaunted spinning kicks, mixing in a puzzling and punishing boxing game that saw him hit “The Red King” then dart out of harm’s way with surprising ease.
It was cautious at times, yet it was also a dominant victory over the No. 1-ranked welterweight who had nearly ripped the belt from champion Robbie Lawler in his last bout at UFC 189. While questions understandably still remain about MacDonald from that bout, it is also clear that “Wonderboy” has separated himself from the pack at 170 pounds.
“Ruthless” will face Tyron Woodley for the championship in the main event of July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Georgia, and “Wonderboy” pulled no punches in calling for a fight with the winner at UFC 205 in New York this November. Thompson even said he’d prefer facing the fellow knockout striker Lawler. He should get that fight. If and when he does, are you predicting Thompson will be the next UFC welterweight titleholder?
High stakes were up for grabs when Stephen Thompson met Rory MacDonald in the main event of last night’s (Sat., June 18, 2016) UFC Fight Night 89 from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. MMA fans everywhere were expecting the world out of “Wonderboy,” who had the momentum of two straight first round knockouts
High stakes were up for grabs when Stephen Thompson met Rory MacDonald in the main event of last night’s (Sat., June 18, 2016) UFC Fight Night 89 from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
MMA fans everywhere were expecting the world out of “Wonderboy,” who had the momentum of two straight first round knockouts over Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger. The pressure was also heavy on MacDonald’s shoulders in the UFC’s debut in Ottawa, as he was returning from the badly broken nose he suffered in his historic fifth-round loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 over 11 months ago.
The headliner may not have been the all-out explosive war that fans had hoped for, but in the end, the fight ended up a technically sound, hard-fought war by both fighters, with Thompson taking home a well-deserved unanimous decision on the strength of his superior volume and activity.
After the win, Thompson called out for a title shot against the winner of Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley in the main event of July 30’s UFC 201, and with seven straight victories, it’s tough to deny him.
Check out the full fight video highlights of “Wonderboy’s” biggest win here:
UFC Fight Night 89 is in the books tonight (Sat., June 18, 2016) from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In the promotion’s debut card from Ottawa, surging No. 2-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson met top-ranked welterweight and native son Rory MacDonald for prime positioning in one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC. Thompson
UFC Fight Night 89 is in the books tonight (Sat., June 18, 2016) from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
In the promotion’s debut card from Ottawa, surging No. 2-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson met top-ranked welterweight and native son Rory MacDonald for prime positioning in one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC. Thompson took home a somewhat lopsided decision in a technically precise chess match.
Fan favorite Donald Cerrone stopped finished streaking veteran Patrick Cote at 170 pounds after a dominant in the co-headliner.
Join LowKickMMA.com for the UFC Fight Night 89 post-fight press conference shortly after the main card right here:
Stephen Thompson vs. Rory MacDonald: Mike Drahota: I’ve truly gone back and forth many times on this bout, and I still can’t seem to come out with a clear-cut prediction because we’ll legitimately witness one of the closest-matched welterweight bouts in UFC history tonight, at least on paper. There’s no denying “Wonderboy’s” momentum as of
I’ve truly gone back and forth many times on this bout, and I still can’t seem to come out with a clear-cut prediction because we’ll legitimately witness one of the closest-matched welterweight bouts in UFC history tonight, at least on paper. There’s no denying “Wonderboy’s” momentum as of late, and his recent highlight reel knockouts of Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger have him in the conversation of being the best striker in all of MMA. MacDonald is obviously a perennial elite-level contender, and nearly had the belt just last July. Questions remain from that fateful five-round war with champion Robbie Lawler, however, and MacDonald could come back hungrier or as a fighter with a piece missing.
Regardless, the only time anyone has had success against Thompson in the Octagon was in his second UFC bout against grinder Matt Brown in 2012, who neutralized “Wonderboy’s” kicks and punches by out-wrestling him at a grueling pace. MacDonald certainly has the wrestling and grappling games to do that, but Thompson’s takedown defense seems to have improved greatly since then. MacDonald had brutally damaging strikes in close against Lawler, and if he can close the distance on Thompson to nullify his flashy kicks and combos at range, the bout will turn in his favor. While that’s wholly not an unlikely outcome, I do believe Thompson is on his way to a UFC title shot. He’ll face adversity against MacDonald, but ultimately I believe his unique, precise striking game will get him the win. “Wonderboy” wins a unanimous decision.
Rory Kernaghan:
There are many interesting questions surrounding tonight’s main event, one that is perhaps most pertinent is how the brutal war against Robbie Lawler has changed Rory MacDonald. Also, will Stephen Thompson be able to use his flashy techniques against a fellow technical artist? It’s a tough one to call in many respects, but if MacDonald is on point, which I fully expect him to be, I don’t think ‘Wonderboy’ will have the space to pull off his wonderful kicking displays. Look for the Canadian MacDonald to close the gap straight away, and utilize his hard elbows in the clinch. Much like we saw at UFC 189, ‘The Canadian Psycho’ has wonderfully precise clinch work, and very nearly finished ‘Ruthless’ on a number of occasions. He also has the advantage on the ground in my mind, making his array of options far more significant than that of Thompson’s. Submission for MacDonald in round three. Bank it.
Mike Henken:
I’m a huge fan of this fight, as it truly pits the top two fighters in a division aside from the champion against one another. Stylistically, this fight is relatively easy to break down, in my opinion. MacDonald will hold the wrestling and grappling advantage while Thompson will hold the striking advantage. The key factor here, however, is “Wonderboy’s” improved takedown defense, and his highly superior striking. It’s also hard to tell how MacDonald will look coming off of a five-round war with the champion. I see “Wonderboy” keeping it on the feet, and using his exquisite movement, and unorthodox angles to get the job done. Thompson by third round TKO.
Donald Cerrone vs. Patrick Cote:
Mike Drahota:
UFC Ottawa’s co-main event is also an interesting one, as it’s obviously No. 4-ranked Cerrone who brings the heat and fanfare as a popular fighter only six months removed from a title shot. But Cote has been quietly effective as of late as well, and his only recent loss was to headliner Stephen Thompson. “The Predator” has won six out of his last seven in a late-career resurgence, and after for contending for the UFC title at middleweight and fighting at light heavyweight, he should have a noticeable size advantage on usual lightweight Cerrone. While “Cowboy” will be the faster man and the more technical fighter on the ground, he may be biting off more than he can chew here. I’m going against the grain. and picking Cote by second round TKO.
Rory Kernaghan:
Donald Cerrone is taking on Patrick Cote in a welterweight tilt for the evening’s co-main event, and this was a relatively easy pick for me. ‘The Predator’ has some good power and has looked vastly improved in wins over Ben Saunders and Josh Burkman, but the difference in class between those opponents and ‘Cowboy’ is clear. I think Cerrone goes to the leg kicks for the duration of this bout, mixing it up nicely with his Muay Thai striking arsenal to the head and gut, and truthfully I don’t think there will be much coming in return. It’s not exactly a technical pick, I feel Cerrone will bludgeon Cote for three rounds and take home a unanimous decision.
Mike Henken:
Cote will obviously have the size advantage here, but I’m not sure how big of a factor that will be, as I simply feel as if Cerrone is the better fighter. Cote will likely look to use his clinch game and wrestling skills to overpower “Cowboy”, but I feel as if Cerrone’s underrated ground game, speed, and conditioning will lead him to victory. Cerrone by second round submission.
The UFC is back in Canada tomorrow night (June 18, 2016) for UFC Fight Night 89, and the huge night of fights is headlined by hometown hero, and No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world, Rory MacDonald and No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. The card is also co-main evented by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Patrick Cote
The UFC is back in Canada tomorrow night (June 18, 2016) for UFC Fight Night 89, and the huge night of fights is headlined by hometown hero, and No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world, Rory MacDonald and No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
The card is also co-main evented by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Patrick Cote in a welterweight bout, granted Cerrone typically competes in the 155-pound division.
Aside from the two colossal bouts set to headline the night of fights in Ottawa, theres plenty of more action fight fans seem to be overlooking that we’re going to look into today. Here is an in-depth look at the UFC Fight Night 89 main card:
Fight 1: Valerie Letourneau vs Joanne Calderwood (Women’s Flyweight Bout)
Set to kick off the night is the first ever women’s flyweight bout in UFC history, when No. 5-ranked women’s starawweight Valerie Letourneau takes on No. 12-ranked Joanne Calderwood.
Letourneau (8-4) is coming off of a 115-pound title bout defeat to current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 193, via unanimous decision in the night’s co-main event.
The American Top Team (ATT) product is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Bruno Fernandes, and also possesses some of the best striking in the women’s 115-pound division.
Calderwood (10-1) is an impressive prospect out of Scotland, being the country’s first female mixed martial artist, who is also alumni from The Ultimate Fighter 20 (TUF 20) in which she made it as far as the quarterfinals of the tournament.
‘JoJo’ has only lost one bout in her professional career, and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night 72 nearly a year ago in July. Calderwood holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and is a Muay Thai specialist having held four titles in the sport.
Both women possess incredible standup skills and have proven to be fairly even on the ground, however, Letourneau is ranked as high as a -190 favorite to win the bout and has faced far greater competition throughout her career. Expect a standup brawl from these two women when they step inside the Octagon.
Fight 2: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs Thibault Gouti (Lightweight)
Next up is a lightweight bout between young UFC veteran Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and a man who comes off his first career loss in Thibault Gouti.
Mercier (7-2) has won three of his last five career UFC bouts, however, his last Octagon appearance in January saw him dropping a unanimous decision bout to Carlos Diego Ferreira at UFC on FOX 18.
‘The Quebec Kid’ is extremely talented on the ground as he holds a black belt in Judo to go along with a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Seven of Mercier’s eight career victories have come via submission, giving him the clear edge in the ground game department.
Gouti (11-1) comes off of the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career, when he was defeated by Teemu Packalen via rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 84 in the first round.
The 29-year-old Frenchman is no slouch on the ground himself, however, as six of his eleven career victories have come via submission.
Mercier is a highly skilled ground practitioner and could dictate the majority of the fight should it go to the ground, which is most likely why he is ranked as much as a -450 favorite to win the bout.
Fight 3: Steve Bosse vs Sean O’Connell (Light Heavyweight)
The third bout slated for the main card is set to go down in the 205-pound division, when Steve ‘The Boss’ Bosse takes on Sean ‘The Real OC’ O’Connell.
Bosse (11-2) comes off of a first round knockout victory over James Te-Huna at UFC Fight Night 85 in his second UFC bout, once again utilizing his vicious striking power.
‘The Boss’ possesses game changing power in his hands, holding nine knockout wins of his eleven career victories.
O’Connell (17-7) has won two of his last four bouts inside the Octagon, including most recently a devastating knockout loss to the heavy handed Illir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 81 this past January.
‘The Real OC’ is an exciting fighter who isn’t afraid to stand and bang with any man in the 205-divison, and has even taken home Fight of the Night honors two times in his two-year UFC career.
Bosse is as much as a -160 favorite to walk away with the win Saturday night, and it’s most likely due in large part to the Canadian’s vicious knockout power.
Fight 4: Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Patrick Cote (Welterweight)
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is making his second appearance in the UFC’s 170-pound division, to take on former middleweight title-challenger Patrick Cote in the evenings co-main event.
Cerrone (29-7-1) has only lost once in his last three years inside the Octagon, with his last bout resulting in a first round submission victory over Alex Oliveira in his welterweight debut.
‘Cowboy’ is an excellent striker due in large part to his extensive kickboxing and Muay Thai background, and also holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Cote (23-9) is on a three-fight win streak as his only loss in four years came in a unanimous decision loss to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. ‘The Predator’ is an extremely well rounded fighter as well, as he holds black belts in Muay Thai, Judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
These two men are pretty evenly matched up and will most likely put on a very exciting contest, however, ‘Cowboy’ is as much as a -175 favorite to emerge victorious.
Rory MacDonald vs Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (Welterweight)
The main of event of the evening is headlined by No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald and No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson for a possible shot at the 170-pound title.
MacDonald (18-3) is coming off a one-year-layoff from the sport after engaging in a bloody title bout brawl with Robbie Lawler back at UFC 189 last July.
The Tristar Gym product is an extremely well rounded mixed martial artist who shows some incredibly technical striking, and possessing a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under David Lea.
Thompson (12-1) is currently on a six-fight win streak since suffering his first career loss to Matt Brown in 2012, with his most recent victory saw ‘Wonderboy’ finishing former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks in their bout at UFC Fight Night 82.
‘Wonderboy’ is one of the UFC’s most dynamic and feared strikers due to his impressive kickboxing career, that included fifty-seven wins in route to an undefeated record.
Due to the undeniably elite striking level of both men, oddsmakers results have revealed to be scattered on who they believe will emerge victorious in the night’s main event.
UFC Fight Night 89 is live on FS1 tomorrow (June 18, 2016) and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Rory MacDonald and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
UFC Fight Night 89 is live this weekend (June 18, 2016) from Ottawa, Canada and is headlined by the cream of the crop in the welterweight division, when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. Thompson is coming off of a first round TKO victory over former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks, which
UFC Fight Night 89 is live this weekend (June 18, 2016) from Ottawa, Canada and is headlined by the cream of the crop in the welterweight division, when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
Thompson is coming off of a first round TKO victory over former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks, which he initially believed was enough to earn him title contender-ship.
That proved not to be the case, as the UFC instead chose No. 3-ranked Tyron Woodley to take on champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 201.
Now that MacDonald and Thompson sit atop the welterweight rankings ‘Wonderboy’ is convinced that no matter who wins the perennial 170-pound contest, the winner has to be given the next shot at UFC gold:
“Win or lose, me or Rory, they have to give it to us,” he said (Courtesy of MMAJunkie). “I understand he fought for the title back in July, but he’s been at the top of the game for a long time.”
“With a good win over Rory, they have to give it to me. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
MacDonald has challenged for the title once before as well as having been amongst the elite of the elite in the talented pool that is the welterweight class, a fact Thompson is sure not to overlook when they tangle this weekend:
“I’m prepared for the best Rory, especially after a loss,” Thompson said. “I became the fighter that I am after my loss to Matt Brown. Mentally, I want to be prepared for the best.
If I’m thinking he may not feel this way or may not be the same after that fight with Lawler, I don’t like to think that. I think I’m facing the toughest Rory MacDonald on Saturday. To me, I don’t think it affects him.”
“(MacDonald) is the best well-rounded fighter I’ve faced so far,” Thompson said. “Fairly similar to St-Pierre. My goal is to keep it standing on my feet, obviously.
I would not want to go to the ground with this guy. He’s the No. 1 contender and been at the top of the game for a long time for a good reason. He’s a good martial artist.”
It was also revealed that MacDonald has brought in karate champion Raymond Daniels to mimic Thompson’s style ahead of their clash:
“Rory is bringing him in to get used to the movement. It is a different movement, and it is very frustrating if you’ve never been standing in front of somebody with that type of movement.”
While Thompson would love to go in there and finish the job early against MacDonald Saturday night, ‘Wonderboy’ is fully prepared to go five rounds with ‘The Red King’ as opposed to fully committing to a knockout:
“I always go out there and prepare for a five, five-minute round war,” Thompson said. “Mentally, that’s just how I look at it. I never go out there looking for the knockout.
I’ve done that in the past in kickboxing and worn myself out trying. Sometimes, that can break people mentally.
You go out there looking for the knockout and it doesn’t happen? I just let it happen. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. You can’t go out there looking for it, because you’ll wear yourself out trying.”
MacDonald and Thompson are set to headline UFC Fight Night 89, which takes place live from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Canada, live on FS1 on June 18, 2016.
Fight 1: Valerie Letourneau vs Joanne Calderwood (Women’s Flyweight Bout)
Fight 2: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs Thibault Gouti (Lightweight)
Fight 3: Steve Bosse vs Sean O’Connell (Light Heavyweight)
Fight 4: Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Patrick Cote (Welterweight) 
Rory MacDonald vs Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (Welterweight)
Now that MacDonald and Thompson sit atop the welterweight rankings ‘Wonderboy’ is convinced that no matter who wins the perennial 170-pound contest, the winner has to be given the next shot at UFC gold:
It was also revealed that MacDonald has brought in karate champion Raymond Daniels to mimic Thompson’s style ahead of their clash: