Stephen Thompson may be known as the “Nicest Motherf–ker” in the UFC. However getting called out by relative newcomer Khamzat Chimaev almost brought out an ugly side of the welterweight contender.
It was recently revealed that Thompson would be facing Geoff Neal in his return to the UFC Octagon, but for a time this did not seem like the direction he would be going in. Not only did he give the nicest callout ever to Leon Edwards, but he had red hot undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev calling for a fight with him. In the end, Edwards and Chimaev would be booked together for a main event, and Wonderboy would be set to face number 11 ranked Neal in the co-main event of the same card.
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Khamzat Chimaev Disrespected Stephen Thompson
Although Stephen Thompson was not particularly interested in fighting Khamzat Chimaev, he still was not happy about being called out by the Dagestani. Speaking in a recent interview, he explained that he was never officially offered a fight with Chimaev, despite previous reports. Not only that, but he had no idea who the guy was at the time that he was being called out.
“At the time I felt disrespected when he mentioned my name,” Thompson said. “There was like a lot of fake news about me fighting him. I was like ‘No I’m not, I don’t even know who this guy is.’ At the time I didn’t. I wasn’t really watching a lot of the UFC.
“The UFC was mentioning it,” Thompson continued. “But there was nothing for sure, like ‘Hey Stephen do you want to fight this guy?’ There were talks about it. There was a lot…I don’t know if it was Khamzat or maybe Khamzat’s manager, Ali that was throwing that fake news out there. Sometimes he’s been known to do that. Then all these other foreign media outlets were picking this up, saying I was fighting this guy. I just kind of ignored it, but at the time I didn’t really know who he was. I think he’s had one fight in the welterweight division, so it didn’t make sense.”
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How Chimaev vs Edwards Will Go
That being said, the UFC moved on to a bout between Chimaev and Leon Edwards. While Stephen Thompson is not sure what to make of Khamzat, he knows one thing for certain: this fight will push the Dageatani. He feels that because of who Leon has faced, and the fact that this is a main event, it will answer the questions about this hyped up prospect.
“I haven’t seen what I want with Khamzat yet,” Thompson explained. “Yes he’s got good wrestling, but the guys that he was facing, they weren’t even ranked. Leon Edwards has been tested many times, he’s fought the best in the division. For the fans and the UFC, this is the chance to really see what Khamzat’s got against a formidable opponent like Leon Edwards. I think Leon’s got it, just on paper but we’ll see. You never know.”
How do you think Leon Edwards vs Khamzat Chimaev will go? Do you want to see the Dagestani fight Stephen Thompson?
