Stephen Thompson hade hoppats på en titelfight mot Robbie Lawler, men fick istället se sig omsprungen av Tyron Woodley. Thompson är besviken på Lawlers insats, men ger samtidigt beröm till Woodley.
Trots att Stephen ”Wonderboy” Thompson (13-1) vunnit sju raka matcher, mot de högst rankade i welterviktdivisionen, gick titelchansen till Tyron Woodley (16-3).
Woodley knockade sedermera welterviktmästaren Robbie Lawler (27-11) i första ronden på UFC 201.
Thompson medverkade nyligen på The MMA Hour, där han delade med sig av sina tankar om fighten.
”I wasexpecting to see Robbie Lawler go out there and just overwhelm Tyron – the Robbie that we’ve seen in the past. But as soon as they got out there, I realized for some reason this is not the same Robbie that we normally see.
Backing up is something you can’t do against Tyron Woodley. Because if you give him that forward momentum, he’s gonna land a shot or he’s gonna end up taking you down.”
Vissa menar att Lawler nu får betala priset för alla de krig han varit i – ”käken” har blivit utsliten. Men Thompson erkänner snarare Woodleys knockout-kraft.
”I think it was just a really good punch. I think Robbie is the exact same fighter as we’ve had, I just didn’t see it that night. Maybe it just wasn’t his night. But I think it was the fact that Tyron has some power in that right hand.”
Det måste ha varit bittert för Thompson att inte själv få titelchansen, men han hade oavsett hoppats på lite mer från fighten som nu blev.
”I was very surprised. I was kind of disappointed, because I did want to see a little bit more out of that fight, out of both of them. But Robbie just wasn’t there. It was like, ‘Damn, that was disappointing.’ It was a crazy KO, but a little disappointing that Robbie didn’t tee-off a little more. It wasn’t him.”
Har Thompson rätt, eller börjar Lawler bli utsliten?
Foto: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
