Stephen Thompson Calls Out Jorge Masvidal in Friendliest Way Possible
Despite losing by unanimous decision to Gilbert Burns at UFC 264, Stephen Thompson still envisions another shot at the welterweight title before his UFC career ends. In order to get there, he called out an old rival of his, Jorge Masvidal for a rematch in Thompson’s typical polite method of callouts.
Thompson had been on a bit of a roll leading up to the loss to Burns, with back-to-back wins over Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque. Before that, he had gotten knocked out by Anthony Pettis and suffered a tough decision loss overseas to Darren Till.
But Thompson isn’t worried about his transgressions and is still laser-focused on another run to the title, as he’s appeared in great shape despite being 38 years old. Thompson defeated Masvidal at UFC 217 but is open to the idea of a NMF vs. BMF rematch as the welterweight title moves forward.
The welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman will face Colby Covington in a title rematch at UFC 268, and Thompson feels the time is right to run it back with Masvidal.
“Well if Leon [Edwards] won’t fight Jorge Masvidal, I’d love to step in and run it back,” Thompson said. “We all know Masvidal 2.0 is a different animal.”
Thompson followed it up with the hashtag, “super respectfully”, as a nod to Masvidal’s signature phrase of “super necessary”.
Masvidal is still targeting a return to the UFC by year’s end, with Nick Diaz and Leon Edwards just a few of his potential opponents. Masvidal was rumored to be the focus of a fight with Edwards, but Edwards has completely denied and declined the fight on his social media.
Diaz faces Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 and it’s unclear if he’ll remain active after this fight. Masvidal defeated his brother, Nate at UFC 244. Thompson is one of the few top welterweight contenders who hasn’t faced Usman, who knocked out Masvidal at UFC 261 after defeating him on short notice last summer.
A fight between Masvidal and Thompson definitely makes sense when looking at the division rankings. Masvidal lands at No. 6 while Thompson lands at No. 5, with a potential title rematch on the line for both with another victory, depending on how things play out between Usman and Covington.
Do you think we’ll see Jorge Masvidal vs. Stephen Thompson 2? How do you think the fight plays out?
