Stephen Thompson Prefers Facing ‘Better MMA Fighter’ Leon Edwards Over Colby Covington

Stephen Thompson is eyeing a top five contender when he returns to action and his preference seems to be Leon Edwards.

Thompson returned to winning ways following an impressive unanimous decision victory over Vicente Luque at UFC 244 in November. His next outing will have to wait for now as all UFC events are indefinitely postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

When “Wonderboy” does eventually return to action, he wants a highly-ranked contender. Two that top the list for him are Edwards and former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington.

But Thompson’s preference is the former as he believes Edwards is the superior mixed martial artist:

“Those are always the guys that I’m looking for, anybody in the top-5 for sure,” Thompson told MMA Fighting. “You’ve got Leon Edwards—I’ve already fought Tyron twice, I don’t think anybody wants to see that again—but Colby Covington for sure. Both guys are very, very high level in their craft, and I think that Leon Edwards is the better MMA fighter than both.

“”He’s got really good striking, and that’s what he was in the beginning was a good striker, but now you’re seeing him use his wrestling, his jiu-jitsu, he used it against RDA. When he fought Vicente Luque, he took him down, I was like, ‘What the heck?’ And those are the guys you really have to prepare for because they’re different every time they step out there and Leon Edwards is that guy, which is why he’s on a crazy fight winning streak.”

It’s a topic that is certainly up for debate but for Thompson, it all comes down to the sport of mixed martial arts. He knows what Covington is going to do; Edwards, meanwhile, will mix things up.

In the end, however, Thompson will fight either of them:

“Colby Covington, everybody knows what’s gonna happen when I fight him,” Thompson explained. “He’s just gonna shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot. His striking doesn’t even compare. Could he hit you and knock you out? For sure, but I’ve definitely fought better strikers than him and I think Leon Edwards is the better MMA fighter for sure and those are the guys I want to fight right there.

“Any one of them, I really don’t care at this point in my career. I’m ranked No. 5, I’ve got a small window to kind of do what I want to do and I want to fight the best in the world. Who can say that, right? It’s like an anime. You’re fighting the best guys in the world, it’s crazy. I’m like, heck yeah man, let’s do it.”

While Thompson does have a small window of time left at 37, he claims he still feels better than ever.

Do you think Thompson will end up going on another streak and getting one more title shot? And who do you want to see him face next?