Stephen Thompson Wants To ‘See Who Is The Better Ninja’ Between He And Nick Diaz, Weighs In On Chimaev vs Burns

Stephen Thompson talks Khamzat Chimaev, the Diaz brothers, and his upcoming fight with Belal Muhammad

Stephen Thompson Nick Diaz
Photos via Instagram @wonderboymma @nickdiaz209

Stephen Thompson is considered to be one of the best pure martial artists that MMA has ever seen. Now he is wanting to put those skills to the test against either Diaz brother.

“Wonderboy” Thompson is still one of the top welterweights in the world, with a style that is tricky to figure out. He is the type of guy that, even if you are able to get past him and get a win, it is hard to look good while doing so.

While he is set to face off against Belal Muhammad next month, he told Submission Radio, that he would be down to face off against either Diaz brother. He would prefer Nate, but says that fighting Nick would allow him to figure out who is the better ninja between he and Nick.

“I think (Nick and I) should have a battle of nunchaku. Nick was the better at nunchaku of the bunch. So my bo staff versus nunchucks, it would be a battle of who is the better ninja,” Thompson said.

“Nate Diaz, I’ve gotta make that happen. If I go out there and win this fight, come on Nate. I’ll be ready to go, you’ll be ready to go. My people can talk to your people, let’s make that happen.”

 

Stephen Thompson Weighs In On Khamzat Chimaev

Someone who has been burning through the welterweight division lately, is red hot Khamzat Chimaev. Stephen Thompson says that his early UFC career run has been impressive, although he has not shown a whole lot of his skills.

Chimaev is currently expected to fight Gilbert Burns next, and Wonderboy says this is an interesting matchup. He thinks that it takes a serious grappling threat to cause the Chechen problems, and that might not even happen until he is fighting the likes of Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington.

“He’s very powerful, very strong,” Thompson said of Burns. “He’s a very strong guy. I felt his power myself whenever he held me down for three rounds pretty much. He was not letting me up. He was a little tired after that, after that round. He looked a little tired. If they do end up fighting and it’s a five-round fight, (Burns) could possibly tire out. We’ll see how it goes.”

“If (Chimaev) goes out there and does work with the guys in the top five, you’ve got to do nothing but, you have to believe him. You’ve got to jump on the train. If he goes out there and does work, you’ve got to jump on the train. Right now, he’s just been smashing guys almost effortlessly, and it feels like almost the guys he’s facing are kind of beat before they get out there. He’s crushing guys, and he beat everybody in the first round. So, it’s hard to really see his whole arsenal,” Thompson said.

“I think for him to really get tested, it’s gonna have to be somebody like Covington with that wrestling pedigree to really test him, because he’s really known for his wrestling and his control on the ground, and so is Usman and Colby Covington and these guys. Not really Gilbert, Gilbert’s more of a jiu-jitsu guy, likes to throw a little bit of boxing, but his wrestling is pretty good. I mean, he got me down, but still, you look at the top wrestlers in the division with Colby Covington and Usman. So, it may take one of those guys to kind of really show us how good he really is.”

 

As for Stephen Thompson, he is set to take on Belal Muhammad on December 18th. Perhaps after this fight, his next bout could be against a Diaz brother, like he wants.

Published on November 17, 2021 at 12:56 pm
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