Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Stephen Thompson has regrets about his first title bout with Tyron Woodley. The two 170-pound warriors fought to a majority draw at UFC 205 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“The Chosen One” had his moments where it looked like he had Thompson finished. The champion had “Wonderboy” bloodied and locked in a tight guillotine choke. Thompson showed his heart, got out of danger and made the fight so close that the judges couldn’t declare a winner.
Thompson recently appeared on the UFC Unfiltered Podcast (via MMAMania.com) and he talked about his first encounter with Woodley. “Wonderboy” said he’s ready to prove that he’s better than what he showed at UFC 205:
“It fuels me knowing that I wasn’t at my best, while Tyron was at his best, he hit me with his best shots, had a deep guillotine choke on me and still couldn’t finish me. So that gives me the fuel and fire to get out there and do it again. To train as hard as I can knowing that.”
“Wonderboy” was on a seven-fight winning streak going into the UFC 205 championship bout with “T-Wood.” Four of his wins in that stretch were knockouts. Some of the fighters Thompson beat to get his shot were Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, Robert Whittaker, and Jake Ellenberger.
While Thompson hasn’t lost since 2012, Woodley hasn’t suffered a defeat since 2014. After falling short to MacDonald, Woodley starched Dong Hyun Kim in the first round. He then fought Kelvin Gastelum and took a split decision.
Woodley was supposed to meet Johny Hendricks in a title eliminator, but “Bigg Rigg” was forced to pull out thanks to weight cutting issues. “The Chosen One” was granted a title opportunity for the fiasco. Woodley made the most of it by knocking out Robbie Lawler in the first round to capture the welterweight title.
