Stephen Thompson On Headlining UFC 209 Vs. Tyron Woodley

To say Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson stole the show at UFC 205 would be an understatement. His strength and body control is elite, but he also has a very strong standup game with his heavy leg kicks, when he chooses to throw them, and a devastating right hook that can knock any fighter’s socks off, regardless of weight class.

But if you believe Thompson, he wasn’t able to relax prior to the Woodley fight in November the way he wanted, even though he was where he wanted to be and doing what he loved. “I’d love to do it again”. And it really took me off my rocker, I was really upset, I was going to fight Rory in his hometown to beat him there and go on to fight for the gold. Thompson prefers to move on the outside and out-land his opponent, whereas Woodley waits for huge power shots. Mostly though it’s control on the mat that I feel will get “T-Wood” a decision victory on the night.

A photo of Tyron Woodley in 2010.

Who will be the more relaxed fighter on Saturday night? He’s also been an outspoken advocate for the UFC to better promote minority fighters, especially African-Americans, as main event attractions.

“You see the sport with guys moving around weight divisions for these big money fights, so for you to not put your hat in the ring for some of those fights is insane”, Woodley said. “I think he needs to realize it’s a great opportunity for him, and he needs to focus more on trying to defeat me and less on why we’re fighting”.

Khabib Nurmagomedov to win by decision.

Thompson held on and established quite the comeback in the latter half of the fight. “I finished out on top and I thought I won it”.

Who’s on the UFC 209 undercard?

The two would rather fight for the actual lightweight belt, but they will have to settle for the interim title at UFC 209. “I think he has learned a lot from their last encounter and will pick better strikes this time around”.

Lando Vannata to win by TKO in Rd2.

We are a little over 24 hours away from UFC 209, the promotion’s second pay-per-view card of 2017. GSP, one of the reasons he left the sport is because of concussions.