Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson should prevail in his eagerly anticipated rematch with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 209 this weekend.
The pair fought to a gripping draw in the co-main event at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden last December and despite Woodley's protestations, the UFC scheduled the much needed rematch.
Thompson is a unique fighter in a sport filled with interesting competitors. He's a five time world champion kick-boxing champion who has an incredible unbeaten record of 57-0 in that discipline.
His movement and range of striking is unmatched by anyone currently within the UFC. He's 5th degree black belt in Tetsushin Ryu Kempo Karate which is complemented with a 1st degree black belt in Tetsushin Ryu Jujitsu and a purple belt in RCJ Machado Jiu-jitsu.
Hearing that from the best welterweight who ever lived is awesome!! #gsp #UFC209 #letsgo
A post shared by Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (@wonderboymma) on
He has a highlight reel of spectacular knock-outs and returning UFC superstar George St. Pierre, who has spent some time training with him, described "Wonderboy" as "the best striker I've seen in my life."
He has racked up five preformance bonuses in his ten UFC fights thus far.
Woodley appears agravated that he has to face Thompson again despite the inconclusive result in their first fight. Instead, he has accussed the UFC of treating him poorly and not promoting him correctly - none of which has anything to do with Thompson.
Woodley has only defended the belt once, against Thompson, so he has little if any room to start demanding super-fights or turning down opponents.
Thompson, for his part, has kept things dignified. His calm demeanor outside the cage mirrors his calculated ruthlessness inside it. He rarely lets his emotions get the better of him and concentrates on the job in hand.
Thompson had never been in the trouble the way Woodley had him in at two points in their first fight and he still weathered the storm.
He will have learned more in those 25 minutes than in any other fight he has had before. Now it's time to put that into practice and become the newest UFC champion.
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