Stephen Thompson will get his title rematch with champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 209. The event will be held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.
“The Chosen One” caused quite a stir when he said he was the “worst-treated” champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also claimed if his skin was a different complexion, he’d be better received by the fans.
“Wonderboy” spoke with the media (via MMAWeekly.com) and appeared confused over Woodley’s comments:
“You know what, I don’t get it and I just don’t see it. I’m not seeing any issues and I’m not seeing his part of it. I mean everybody knows who Tyron is man. I know there’s some things that he has turned down that the UFC tried to get him to do. I think he’s an exciting fighter. I know he brought up Demetrious Johnson and I just don’t think Demetrious has a draw as some of these other fighters do.”
One of the things that irked Woodley was Thompson coming out with the American flag during his UFC 205 entrance. Thompson explained that bringing the flag out is a sign of respect for a special group of people.
“The reason I walked out with the flag is I support our wounded vets. I want to let him know and the fans know why I walked out with the flag and I know he brought it up. I support our wounded vets and they had actually did a motorcycle ride for hundreds of miles to get there. They had the flag and they just wanted me to walk out with it.”
The co-main event of UFC 209 will feature an interim lightweight title bout between undefeated Sambo master Khabib Nurmagomedov and “El Cucuy” Tony Ferguson. Also on the card will be a heavyweight tilt between Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt.
