UFC welterweights MacDonald, Thompson both make weight ahead of Ottawa showdown

Stephen Thompson has won each of his last six fights since picking up his first loss as a professional back in 2012.

Well, that fight will take place tomorrow night (June 18, 2016) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 89 as MacDonald takes on surging No. 2-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. He fought for the UFC title in his latest bout – and came tantalizingly close to winning it. The simple fact he fights out of Canada represents added value to promoters with interest in that market, and at age 26, he’s in the absolute prime of his career. And his displeasure had nothing to do with competing against a friend.

“It wasn’t working but I was being stubborn and trying to double down on the wrong thing”, Theodorou said. “I really didn’t even consider anything else”. Thompson, meanwhile, is also looking for a title shot, having crushed former champ Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger in back-to-back outings.

His belief was that he’d next line up with Lawler. “And I don’t think you should be in the UFC if you are not going for a title”, said Mr. Thompson when he visited the country in February in describing the mindset he has as he makes his way to the top.

“It makes it exciting for me, I’m here to fight the best in the world and he definitely is”. “I don’t need to be cocky”.

Thompson was still learning the ins and outs of cutting weight when he fought Brown.

But before he gets to Lawler, Thompson needs to get past MacDonald. The two have trained together before, but “The Red King” won’t let that stand in the way of doing his violent work.

“It just showed me how tough I am, especially when it does get tough”. But that same night, Lawler ruined those plans by defeating his Canadian colleague for the first time.

“I didn’t give up, I took a lot of shots, shots that most people would have given up on”. In the lightweight co-main event, superstars Jason “The Kansas City Bandit” High (19-5) and Mike “The Martian” Ricci (11-4) will square off with the No. 1 contender ranking at stake.

“I’ll be honest with you and I don’t look at myself as a star right now”, Thompson said. “I’ve been hungry ever since the fight”.

“But just for confidence, I know that I can go five-rounds and I’m expecting that”.

“Going to that first UFC I was like “man, I want to do this stuff”, he said. The fans there were unbelievable.

Opening the main card is a huge matchup between strawweights who have agreed to meet at a 125-pound catchweight in this one. He is risky in the clinch and can do damage if he gets you on the ground.

Thompson peppers his speech with terms like “awesome”, “amazing” and “incredible”, when talking about MacDonald as well as his UFC experience. The victor of this fight nearly certainly has booked himself a ticket to a title fight with Robbie Lawler.

He is eager for that moment, but not ready to discuss it too much.

“When I found out it was Rory I was kind of disappointed because I did know him for many years through training at TriStar and fighting on the same cards as him and we developed a relationship …” As the defending champion, Lawler’s disclosed fight purse was $300,000.