Wonderboy: Rory MacDonald ‘Pretty Much Schooled’ Tyron Woodley
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson will finally get his shot at UFC gold after leaving a murderer’s row of body trails in his path, having downed elite 170-pounders in the form of former champ Johny Hendricks and two-time title challenger Rory MacDonald.
Thompson will step into the Octagon with current welterweight king Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley, who is coming off of a fierce first round knockout over Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 to secure the strap, in the co-main event of UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden.
”Wonderboy’ earned his shot at the 170-pound throne after having put on a beautiful 25-minute performance against the now Bellator bound Rory MacDonald, by earning a unanimous decision decision victory over ‘The Red King’ at UFC Fight Night 89 this past June.
MacDonald has quite the resume himself when it comes to Octagon experience, interestingly enough owning a unanimous decision win over the current champ Woodley from their clash at UFC 174 in 2014.
Thompson recently joined Submission Radio, courtesy of MMA Mania, to discuss his upcoming match-up with Woodley and stated that he already believes he faced the toughest challenge at 170-pounds in the form of MacDonald:
“If you look back at his fights, he doesn’t throw a double or go for the takedown very often. Tyron wants to put those hands on you and wants to try and knock you out. I think once he gets a little frustrated, obviously he’s gonna try and do that, just like everybody else that I’ve faced. I think pretty much the hardest opponent in the division is Rory MacDonald. I mean, Rory pretty much schooled Tyron Woodley. But I can’t take this guy lightly and that’s how I go in looking at this fight.
A lot of people are like, ‘oh man, you’re gonna crush this dude and Tyron Woodley, he smoked him’ and you know what, I don’t think like that. I’m not the type of guy to do that. Because I want to prepare for the best guy, and that’s Tyron Woodley. That’s the guy standing in front of me. I’m preparing myself as if this is going to be the hardest fight that I have ever faced – and it possibly could be. I want to be ready for five, five-minute rounds.”
The 33-year-old former undefeated kickboxer is one of the most feared strikers in the UFC today, and could certainly reign as the next great champion in the welterweight division with a potential win over Woodley in November. Could the Serra-Longo Fight Team product be the next big Georges St-Pierre caliber champ in the UFC? Only time will tell.
Woodley and Thompson will go toe-to-toe in the co-main event of UFC 205 for the welterweight championship live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Madison Square Garden arena in New York City on November 12, 2016.
