MANY BELIEVE THAT Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson should currently be preparing for a welterweight title shot, but instead the 33-year-old American will go in search of his seventh consecutive win tonight in Ottawa when he faces the man who’s still ranked as the number one contender in the UFC’s 170lbs division.
While Tyron Woodley, who’s ranked third, gets set to take on champion Robbie Lawler on 30 July — Woodley’s first fight in 18 months — second-ranked Thompson (12-1) has been tasked with overcoming Rory MacDonald (18-3) before he can get a shot at the belt.
Thompson may have thought he had done enough for a crack at Lawler when he stopped former champion Johny Hendricks in the first round back in February, but the UFC have put one more sizeable obstacle in his way.
MacDonald will be returning to action tonight in his native Canada for the first time since his brutal fight-of-the-year loss to Lawler in a title bout in July of last year. Despite the lay-off, the 26-year-old remains the top contender in the division, according to the rankings, and a second bite at the championship cherry could be his reward also.
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If Thompson was worthy of a title shot by now, at the same time, few fans are complaining about this match-up. Thanks to his karate and kickboxing background, Thompson’s spectacular striking is among the very best in the sport. MacDonald’s stand-up has rarely let him down either and the Tristar fighter is also likely to be the more well-rounded of the two.
Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
There’s another interesting welterweight bout in this evening’s co-main-event slot, with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone (19-7-1) aiming for his second win on the trot since his move to 170lbs when he takes on Patrick Cote (23-9), who has lost just once — against the aforementioned Stephen Thompson — in his last seven outings.
Elsewhere on the UFC Fight Night 89 card, Scotland’s Joanne Calderwood aims to move into title contention when she faces former title challenger Valérie Létourneau — although this bout is being contested at flyweight.
On the prelims, watch out for Moldovan light-heavyweight prospect Ion Cutelaba making his debut, the return of ex-flyweight title challenger Ali Bagautinov, as well as what should be an entertaining middleweight contest between Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey.
Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
Donald Cerrone vs. Patrick Cote
Steve Bossé vs. Sean O’Connell
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Thibault Gouti
Valérie Létourneau vs. Joanne Calderwood
TV prelims (BT Sport 2, 1.30am)
Jason Saggo vs. Leandro Silva
Misha Cirkunov vs. Ion Cutelaba
Tamdan McCrory vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Chris Beal vs. Joe Soto
Fight Pass prelims (UFCFightPass.com, 11.45pm)
Elias Theodorou vs. Sam Alvey
Randa Markos vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger
Colby Covington vs. Jonathan Meunier
Ali Bagautinov vs. Geane Herrera
Tonight's UFC main event might be the best match-up we see this year
MANY BELIEVE THAT Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson should currently be preparing for a welterweight title shot, but instead the 33-year-old American will go in search of his seventh consecutive win tonight in Ottawa when he faces the man who’s still ranked as the number one contender in the UFC’s 170lbs division.
While Tyron Woodley, who’s ranked third, gets set to take on champion Robbie Lawler on 30 July — Woodley’s first fight in 18 months — second-ranked Thompson (12-1) has been tasked with overcoming Rory MacDonald (18-3) before he can get a shot at the belt.
Thompson may have thought he had done enough for a crack at Lawler when he stopped former champion Johny Hendricks in the first round back in February, but the UFC have put one more sizeable obstacle in his way.
MacDonald will be returning to action tonight in his native Canada for the first time since his brutal fight-of-the-year loss to Lawler in a title bout in July of last year. Despite the lay-off, the 26-year-old remains the top contender in the division, according to the rankings, and a second bite at the championship cherry could be his reward also.
If Thompson was worthy of a title shot by now, at the same time, few fans are complaining about this match-up. Thanks to his karate and kickboxing background, Thompson’s spectacular striking is among the very best in the sport. MacDonald’s stand-up has rarely let him down either and the Tristar fighter is also likely to be the more well-rounded of the two.
There’s another interesting welterweight bout in this evening’s co-main-event slot, with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone (19-7-1) aiming for his second win on the trot since his move to 170lbs when he takes on Patrick Cote (23-9), who has lost just once — against the aforementioned Stephen Thompson — in his last seven outings.
Elsewhere on the UFC Fight Night 89 card, Scotland’s Joanne Calderwood aims to move into title contention when she faces former title challenger Valérie Létourneau — although this bout is being contested at flyweight.
On the prelims, watch out for Moldovan light-heavyweight prospect Ion Cutelaba making his debut, the return of ex-flyweight title challenger Ali Bagautinov, as well as what should be an entertaining middleweight contest between Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey.
Who’s your pick for tonight’s main event?
Poll Results:
UFC Fight Night 89
Main card (BT Sport 2, 3.30am)
Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
Donald Cerrone vs. Patrick Cote
Steve Bossé vs. Sean O’Connell
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Thibault Gouti
Valérie Létourneau vs. Joanne Calderwood
TV prelims (BT Sport 2, 1.30am)
Jason Saggo vs. Leandro Silva
Misha Cirkunov vs. Ion Cutelaba
Tamdan McCrory vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Chris Beal vs. Joe Soto
Fight Pass prelims (UFCFightPass.com, 11.45pm)
Elias Theodorou vs. Sam Alvey
Randa Markos vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger
Colby Covington vs. Jonathan Meunier
Ali Bagautinov vs. Geane Herrera
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fan favourites mixed martial arts MMA Rory MacDonald stephen thompson UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship