If Stephen Thompson was a betting man, he would put money down on the fact that his fight this weekend at UFC Ottawa will be his toughest to date. After finishing former division kingpin Johny Hendricks in one round, Wonderboy expects his fight against Rory MacDonald to be a classic Welterweight war.
"I expect a five 5 minute round war. Mentally for me to be ready for this fight, for me to be confident, I have to be ready for that," Thompson said on Weekly MMA Talk.
This will be the third time that Thompson will enter a five round fight. He finished the two previous fights in under one round. Thompson understands that his fight with MacDonald will likely be different..
"I think this is going to be action packed, I think the fans will really love to tune in to this fight. He's a tough guy. You saw him go out there and take some shots from Robbie Lawler and he just kept coming."
MacDonald and Thompson are the #1 and #2 ranked contenders in the Welterweight division, meaning the winner will likely get a title shot. Thompson isn't one to get upset or vent his frustrations, always showing a smile on his face and bringing a positive attitude wherever he goes. That won't be the case if he gets passed over for the next title shot.
"If I don't get that title shot then something's wrong man. A win over Johny Hendricks, a win over Rory [MacDonald] has to give it to me. I would definitely be upset, yes [laughs]. I'm putting my foot down."
However, in the case that Robbie Lawler lost a close and controversial decision to Tyron Woodley in their fight at UFC 201, Thompson could see himself having to wait until a rematch settles the score, although he doesn't expect to see Lawler lose his championship to Woodley.
"I think Robbie is going to finish, beat Tyron. I think Tyron has been out of the game for a little while. He does have an explosive shot, but Lawler's takedown defense if phenomenal."
UFC Ottawa takes place this weekend in Ottawa, Ontario, with the main card airing on Fox Sports 1 at 10:30pm EST. The co-main event features Donald Cerrone making the move up to Welterweight against Patrick Cote.
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