Stephen Thompson Downplays Woodley’s Racism Remarks
UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and No. 1-ranked Stephen Thompson put on one of the best 170-pound title bouts in recent memory, when they collided in the co-main event of UFC 205 this past November at Madison Square Garden.
When all was said and done in New York City, however, no clear winner given after the bout, as the judges ruled the contest a majority draw decision. Now ‘The Chosen One’ and ‘Wonderboy’ will collide once more to determine who the true king of the UFC’s welterweight division is, and it’ll all go down in the main event of UFC 209 this March.
Recently Woodley has stated that he feels he’s been treated harshly by fans and the UFC due to his skin color, something that Thompson tells MMA Junkie just doesn’t make sense given the success of other African-American fighters in the promotion:
“Jon Jones, one of the biggest stars in the UFC at the time,” Thompson said. “Anderson Silva. … He’s the GOAT. I’m looking at these fighters, and to me, (they) haven’t been treated any differently.
“But I haven’t seen (Woodley’s) side. I haven’t been around him, and haven’t seen what’s going on with the UFC. But who doesn’t know Tyron?”
”Wonderboy’ would go on to urge Woodley not to focus on anything other than their fight in March, as he wants to fight the very best version of the champ when they step into the Octagon in Las Vegas:
“I’m looking at Tyron saying, ‘Focus on the fight. Just focus on the fight. Don’t worry about all this other stuff until after,’” he said. “Because I want to fight the best Tyron Woodley.”
Woodley and Thompson will meet in the main event of UFC 209 live on pay-per-view (PPV) for the UFC welterweight title, from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 4, 2017.
