Woodley prevails in Wonderboy rematch to retain UFC title

Despite falling to the canvas a second time, Thompson again rose up and the two finished the fight on their feet, which sent the bout to the judges’ scorecards.

Yes, he got his preliminary objective done.

Stephen Thompson will again be challenging for the UFC Welterweight Title this Saturday night at UFC 209.

We got the middleweight champ at T-Mobile Arena after UFC 209, where he starts his diss against Tyron with. Woodley took a majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47) consequently retaining the belt.

Woodley alternated right and left-handed punches, but Thompson stood back up. By the way, it was a draw past year, just in a fight with Tyrone Woodley. There was stuff I could’ve done to chop the tree down and get closer to a longer opponent.

“It was just really awkward, it was my first rematch”.

“We’re both counterpunchers”, Thompson said. I thought I had it, but you know what?

To be sure, MMA is a hellaciously hard endeavor; chess with blood is among the most apt descriptions of the sport ever uttered. The number of contender, Stephen Thompson already had one attempt to steal the belt from his country-fellow. First two times each fighter pulled out due to suffering an injury.

In the fifth, the two men sized up each other before engaging.

After UFC 209, UFC President Dana White had admitted that the fight wasn’t the most action packed fight you would ever see.

“I thought I threw and landed the better strikes, but you can’t leave it in the judges’ hands”, Thompson said. In addition to landing a higher volume of punches, Woodley was more effective, connecting on 49 percent of his shots and 43 percent of his significant strikes.

Bennett was referring to the final minute of the fight where he briefly hurt the challenger. He was moving that so quickly.

The 34-year-old UFC welterweight champ simply felt he couldn’t risk his belt or his livelihood in another emotional brawl with Thompson, the unpredictable karate fighter who almost finished him four months ago in their wild first bout in NY. As Conor McGregor continues his flirtatious dance with Floyd Mayweather and a potential boxing match, the company likely has to wait until the summer return of legend Georges St-Pierre for the kind of occasion that will grab the focus of the wider masses.

While Vannata (9-2) showcased a flashier and more diverse offense, Teymur (6-1) remained disciplined, using combinations, knees and takedowns to pave the way to his sixth consecutive victory.

In an entertaining striking display, Teymur earned the unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

The New Zealander was fighting for the first time since a controversial no-result against former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in July, after the American tested positive for banned substances post-fight. “Going in, you say, ‘I want to be aggressive, but when you’re out there vs. Tyron, he’s so powerful”. He refused to call out his next challenger, but believes it could well be the victor of a May bout between Demian Maia and Jorge Masvidal. That’s about the closest thing to a guarantee in a wild division though.

Thompson has spent the better part of the last 10 months embroiled in a rivalry with Woodley after he first won the title last July with a knockout over Robbie Lawler.