Stephen Thompson Irritated By Woodley’s ‘Stupid’ Focus On Race
Stephen Thompson isn’t buying Tyron Woodley’s ‘worst treated champion in history’ claim.
Leading up to Woodley and Thompson’s initial meeting at UFC 205 this past November ‘The Chosen One’ claims that ‘Wonderboy’ was being promoted as the champion heading into the contest. Woodley pointed to racial discrimination by both the UFC and fans as a key reason for this.
Thompson recently spoke to Submission Radio (quotes via Bloody Elbow) to discuss his UFC 209 opponent’s claims, and stated that he doesn’t believe Woodley has been champion long enough to feel like the worst treated title-holder in UFC history:
“The guy hasn’t been champion long enough to even feel that way, I believe,” Thompson said. “I mean, to me it seems like the most hated champion would be Bisping, you know what I mean?”
The pair’s match-up at UFC 205 ended in a controversial majority draw decision after a spectacular welterweight title contest in the night’s co-main event. Now the two will run it back once again in the main event of UFC 209 this March in Vegas to determine who the better man truly is.
Before both men signed on the dotted line for an immediate rematch, however, Woodley was openly campaigning for fights with other opponents such as Nick Diaz or Demian Maia. Thompson believes this is what brings about the dislike towards Woodley from fans, not the color of his skin:
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports“For me, he hasn’t defended the title like he’s supposed to. So automatically getting that rematch and just looking for other fighters and riding on other people’s coattails, maybe have given him or the fans a bad taste in their mouth.”
“But when it comes to race, that’s stupid. I mean, that’s just stupid. One of the highest paid athletes in the UFC is Jon Jones, and pretty much whatever happened to him, he did to himself. And Anderson Silva on the other hand too. So I don’t get it. You know what, it kind of irritates me cause he’s focused on that when he should be focusing more on the fight at hand, because I don’t want to step out there March 4thand face off against a distracted Tyron Woodley. I fight for the glory and I want to fight the best when I step out there March 4th and I want him to be focused on it. So that’s my two cents on that, and I just think it’s ridiculous.”
As to whether or not Woodley is being discriminated by the UFC, that isn’t something Thompson can attest to as he doesn’t know what negotiations between the promotion and the welterweight champ are like:
“Maybe that’s where he’s getting all that from – maybe not from the UFC, but from the fans. That’s what I see.”
“On the other hand, I don’t see what goes on from his point of view when he’s negotiating with the UFC. Of course, I’m not there with him during those negotiations or things like that. So maybe, I don’t know, I’m missing something or maybe he sees something different just because I’m not there during his negotiations and chats with the UFC. But from my side, for him to pull that, it’s not necessary.”
Woodley has recently said that the relationship between him and the UFC has improved as of late, and is prepared to defend his title once again when he steps into the Octagon with ‘Wonderboy’ for the second consecutive time. Do you think Woodley is fully focused on his bout with Thompson?
You can listen to Thompson’s interview with Submission Radio here:
