Stephen Thompson is not sure that Colby Covington getting the next welterweight title shot is deserved.
For many years the UFC welterweight division was among the best in the organization. Some of the greatest fighters of all time have come and gone through the 170-pound rankings, but one man has stayed constant for over ten years, that man is Stephen Thompson. “Wonderboy” has done almost everything a fighter can do in the UFC, except win the illustrious title. He has had two shots at the belt but has fallen short. Now he is hoping to work his way up to the top one more time and gain another title shot.
Right now the next man in line to take on the champion Leon Edwards is Colby Covington. Covington was promised the challenger spot by Dana White after UFC 286 where Edwards defended his belt against Kamaru Usman. The announcement that Covington would be next was met with some backlash from fans and other welterweight-ranked fighters. Thompson also has his concerns.
Stephen Thompson believes that there are better options for the next welterweight title contender
Thompson sees other fighters from his division that are more worthy of a shot at Edwards than Covington is. His last bout was over a year ago when he beat Jorge Masvidal who is now retired. Thompson sees one man who he has faced personally that would be a better option. He spoke to Middle Easy about this in an exclusive interview.
“You got guys like Belal Muhammad who’s, you know on a win streak and doing very very well, he ended up beating me, who I think is more deserving of the title shot than, Colby Covington,” he said. “I think this is his third shot at the title. I don’t remember his last fight, his last fight was Masvidal, right, but before that it was Usman twice so why does he get the third shot, but fight styles make fights and I think it would be a good test obviously for Leon.”
Thompson has his next bout all lined up. He will be taking on Michel Pereira at UFC 289 on June 10. If victorious, that will be two wins in a row for him and perhaps he will be able to creep himself up into the title contention talks.
