Stephen Thompson: For My Career, It's Better if Kamaru Usman Beats Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley will defend his welterweight belt against Kamaru Usman on March 2 and while there will be many interested onlookers, few will be more focused on the outcome than Stephen Thompson.

Woodley and Thompson have locked horns on two occasions already in what proved to be two very competitive fights, first in November 2016 at UFC 205 where the pair fought out a majority draw and then again in March 2017 at UFC 209 where Woodley edged out the victory by majority decision. Thompson believes that for him to get another shot at the title, it’ll have to be against a different opponent as fans are most likely not keen on a trilogy fight between him and Woodley at this stage.

“Wonderboy” spoke on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show to explain why he’ll be cheering on Usman come March.

“Yeah, most definitely,” Thompson said. “For my career-wise, I would want Kamaru Usman to win. But man, Tyron is just another animal. He’s another animal. His wrestling… Is very good. I think better than any of the guys that Usman has faced. I believe that Tyron’s striking is, he’s very explosive. They’re both gonna have their hands full. But for my career, yeah I would definitely want Usman to win.”

Thompson last competed inside the Octagon in May 2018 where he lost a controversial unanimous decision to Liverpool’s Darren Till in a fight many believed Thompson won. Thompson is scheduled to fight former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis on March 23 at UFC Nashville. A convincing win over “Showtime” could put Thompson him back into contention for another shot at the belt.