Stephen Thompson isn’t fond of new UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley’s idea of a “money” fight with Nick Diaz in his first title defense.
Thompson (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who served as an FS1 analyst for Saturday’s UFC 201 event at Philips Arena in Atlanta, made it clear he wants his shot at Woodley’s (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) newly won belt after racking up a divisional-best seven-fight winning streak over the past several years.
Woodley didn’t appear all that interested in the fight after beating Robbie Lawler (27-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) by first-round knockout in the UFC 201 headliner, though. He said “Wonderboy” should fight Lawler next while he turns his attention to a matchup with Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who is on a three-fight winless skid and hasn’t been victorious in a fight since October 2011.
Although there’s likely more money to be made in a fight with Diaz next, Thompson wasn’t willing to sit idly by and let Woodley play matchmaker for his title reign.
“He’s won (three) in a row,” Thompson said on UFC 201’s post-fight show. “How many have I won? Seven in a row. I’ve cleaned out the division for this guy. Listen, I’ve got more wins under me in a row than he does, I’ve beat the best, I’ve beat the No. 1 (in Johny Hendricks), I’ve beat the No. 2 (in Rory MacDonald) – not just in a five-round fight; (Hendricks) was in the first round.”
Thompson has been on a roll of late. He most recently defeated MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 89 in June after steamrolling Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger before that in highlight-reel finishes.
Many believe Thompson has done more than enough to fight for the belt, but apparently Woodley disagrees. Thompson wasn’t willing to go as far as saying Woodley is purposely avoiding a fight against him, but he did send a stern message to the new champion, and that was that one way or another, he’s coming after the gold.
“I’m not going to say he’s scared, because I know he’s not scared,” Thompson said. “He wants that money fight, but I think I’m going to be making more money when I put this foot upside his head. I’m just telling you. It’s going to happen. This is my division, baby. That’s it.”
For complete coverage of UFC 201, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
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