Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson I

He last defeated former champion Rafael dos Anjos in a particularly one-sided, five-round affair, also solidifying himself as a viable title contender for his efforts. If that torch is held by ‘Wonderboy, ‘ that’s cool, I don’t have to go to 170. If McGregor doesn’t return in a timely manner, Nurmagomedov or Ferguson will likely end up trading in the interim title for the undisputed crown.

Or at least, that’s what Nurmagomedov would have you believe. When other guys are interested in fighting you, you have to entertain those guys. As a fighter who is incredible stood up and very hard to take down, I feel he has the skill set required to hand “The Eagle” his first loss.

When Woodley fought Lawler, I picked against Lawler for the first time in my life because Woodley had a unique hunger and drive to become world champion. Thompson, meanwhile, rides an eight-fight unbeaten streak that dates back to UFC 145 in 2012. Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title.

Wonderboy Who is Stephen Thompson?

It’s bound to be a competitive fight, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what truly brought this contest together: money. So you know what? “Maybe you should have went to college”.

Rashad Evans speaks with the media during a news conference for UFC 209, Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.

That would be perfectly fine with Ferguson and Nurmagomedov. The two are scheduled to fight in a welterweight championship mixed martial arts fight Saturday in Las Vegas.

“Duke was the missing piece; he was the one element that tied everything together that I was missing”, said Woodley. I think Tony is better.

Two losses in three fights had people questioning their prior assessment of his upside. “Because champions are made in the dark, baby”.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by the veterans of the division.

I would counter with combinations as well, and not just strikes, preferably a punch (es)-kick combination. Woodley represents a tall order for anyone, especially someone who has spent the majority of his career in a lower weight class. “This guy is so mean”.

“He’s a physical specimen, but to me I can’t wait to fight him”, Overeem said.

“It’s out of respect, you read the interviews and you hear where he’s come from, and you can’t help but respect it”.

“I don’t know if it was because it was the biggest fight card in UFC history, or because it was Madison Square Garden and all the hype or what”, Thompson said.

Ferguson is a good defensive wrestler and has a good submission game, especially from the front headlock position, so expect to see him look for that when defending Khabib’s takedowns from if he gets a chance.