UFC welterweight fighter Stephen Thompson had two failed attempts at the title. However, in a recent interview with Chamatkar Sandhu, he revealed that Leon Edwards inspired him to go on another title run in the division. The performances of Edwards in the octagon became a source of inspiration for Thompson.
Edwards is a striker that dominated highly skilled grapplers in the welterweight division. Stephen Thompson is also a striker and took inspiration from Edwards’ victories over Kamaru Usman, Rafael dos Anjos and Gunnar Nelson. In a striker versus grappler contest, the matchup always favors the grappler. Hence, Thompson got inspired by Edwards’ performance against these high-level wrestlers.
‘Wonderboy’ intends to compete once again for the title. He believes winning over a top-five grappler in the division can help him fight Leon Edwards in a title match. “I get another shot at somebody in the top five and then maybe Leon…,” he said. Thompson said that Edwards wants to fight a striker instead of a grappler like Colby Covington.
He said, “The top five, it’s a murderous row of grapplers right. And Leon actually gives me inspiration because he is predominantly a striker.” It would be interesting to see if a legend like Thompson gets another title fight. Thompson is on the greatest fighters list to never win a UFC title.
Related: WATCH: UFC legend Stephen Thompson masters iconic Bruce Lee’s one-inch punch
Stephen Thompson discussed training with Conor McGregor on TUF 31
Conor McGregor will soon make his return to the UFC. ‘The Notorious’ competed as a coach against Michael Chandler in the upcoming TUF 31. McGregor will fight Chandler later this year in a blockbuster clash.
McGregor offered Stephen Thompson to train with him for a while as a guest coach on TUF 31. Wonderboy admired McGregor’s devotion and dedication to his team and the sport. “I got a call from Conor asking me to be a guest coach,” Thompson said. “It was really cool… He inspires his team, he’s 100% in with his team every step of the way, which I love because that’s what I do for a living.”
Thompson’s initial entry as a guest coach eventually became permanent in the reality show. This is the 31st edition of The Ultimate Fighter and will premiere on the last week of May.
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