Stephen Thompson has revealed an interesting fight offer from the UFC, which he turned down.
“Wonderboy” was the center of attention just one night before UFC 291. He was expected to meet Michel Pereira inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah back in July. Thompson made weight for the planned welterweight scrap, but Pereira did not. “Wonderboy” ultimately chose not to go through with the fight due to his opponent’s scale fail. UFC President Dana White said he’d work with Thompson’s team on compensation, but he would not be paid his show money.
McGregor and Wonderboy ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Z1CRAwbkKv
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) August 19, 2023
UFC Made Surprising Offer To Stephen Thompson
In a new video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Stephen Thompson revealed that the UFC ended up offering him a fight against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia. “Wonderboy” explained why he turned that fight down.
“What people don’t know is the UFC contacts me, this literally the weekend of UFC 291, but UFC comes to me and was like, ‘Hey, how about you fight JDM in Australia?’ Which was, at the time, five weeks later. I was like, ‘No, too soon. I’ve been training since April, so my training camp has been wearing me down. I wanna heal up from that.’ So, I told them no and they were like, ‘Okay, well how about fighting the following weekend in Vegas?’ I was like, ‘Man, still too soon.’ Again, my body’s broken down. I wanna be able to heal back up, but not only that, JDM’s a tough dude. I wanna get a full-on proper training camp if I’m gonna face a guy like JDM.”
Is Kamaru Usman Next?
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman recently told TMZ Sports that “Wonderboy” is one of the few opponents that makes sense for him. After those comments, Thompson sees the Usman fight as his best path to another UFC title opportunity.
“I’ve been fighting backwards since Tyron Woodley, apart from Gilbert Burns, to be honest with you,” Thompson said. “I’ve been fighting back, I’ve been fighting 13s, the Geoff Neals, the Vicente Luques, the Belal Muhammads, and trying to get that fight with Michel Pereira, who I think was 15th or 13, I can’t remember.
“… I’m 40 years old, and when I see a chance to go for another title shot before it’s over when Kamaru Usman calls me out, I’m like, ‘Dude, no brainer.'”
