UFC 209: Stephen Thompson promises to be stronger, heavier, and more aggressive in rematch with Tyron Woodley
By Elias Cepeda
Stephen Thompson promises to be stronger, heavier, and more aggressive than he was at UFC 205 when he challenges Tyron Woodley for the belt at UFC 209.
After a back-and-forth battle ending in an inconclusive draw like UFC 205’s welterweight title fight between challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and champion Tyron Woodley, the temptation for some athletes and teams may be to parse through every moment carefully, searching for all turning points and analyzing every missed opportunity.
As he prepared for his immediate rematch at UFC 209, however, Thompson says he avoided that pitfall. Instead, he and his team decided to grab a couple takeaway lessons from their first fight with Woodley, and get back to their usual work.
“Exactly, that’s exactly how we’ve been approaching this next fight,” Thompson tells The Extra Rounds Podcast.
“We’re not trying to over analyze it. It was about just going in there, taking a few things that I could have done differently and going back in and doing that.”
To that end, Thompson certainly focused on some changes that needed to be made. First, he believes he was too light in the cage.
Dustin Poirier and Stephen Wonderboy Thompson call in to talk about UFC 208 and 209
Posted by Sports Illustrated MMA on Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Second, the expert kick boxer is disappointed that he wasn’t as aggressive as he usually is.
“Weight was a big issue,” he admits.
“I went in there very light, about 182. I actually weighed myself before I went out into the Octagon, and I was 178. So, I was very small. I know Tyron is a big 170 pounder. He cuts from, like, 205, or even heavier than that and I could feel that in the clinch positions.”
As for his supposed hesitance, Thompson promises that he’ll be much more assertive this Saturday in Las Vegas, when he gets to run it back with “The Chosen One.”
“If you watched it, I was very hesitant out there in that last fight with the techniques I normally do,” he concludes.
“I didn’t switch sides, throw the different kicks. I was very hesitant. I just didn’t go out there and let it fly. That’s one of the things we went back and looked at. We’re definitely going to see a different Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson when I step out there March 4.”