Stephen Thompson believes he is inside the head of Tyron Woodley.
“Wonderboy” will get his chance to claim the UFC welterweight title from Woodley when the two meet Saturday night at UFC 209.
Last year at UFC 205, the duo fought to a majority draw. Thompson told “UFC Tonight” Wednesday that he thinks the mental edge is in his favor heading into the rematch.
“He knows he’s got to fight me one more time, and that’s scary,” Thompson said. “That might have gotten in his head. That’s an advantage for me. I want to fight the best Woodley in the world and put on a war.”
The two continue to disagree on who won which rounds during the first meeting, but Thompson believes he did the majority of the damage and deserved the win. Either way, he plans to bring hell to Woodley come this weekend.
“Tyron definitely won the first and fourth rounds,” he said. “I felt like I had the second, third and fifth rounds and the fight. I finished out on top and I thought I won it.
“I did learn a lot about myself in that fight. I didn’t get to take that belt back to South Carolina, but whoever steps in that Octagon with me is in for a hell of a fight.”
