Welterweights Stephen Thompson (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Nah-Shon Burrell (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) round out the Facebook portion of the UFC 160 preliminary card. Burrell replaces the injured Amir Sadollah, marking the 2nd time in as many UFC fights that Burrell has been pressed into short notice duty.
Thompson earned a lot of hype after an exciting debut, but it has since disappeared given his ensuing loss plus over a year's worth of inactivity. The preliminary card starts on Facebook at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT and continues on FX at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.
How do these two stack up?
Burrell: 23 years old | 6'1" | 74" reach
Thompson: 30 years old | 6'0" | 75" reach
What have these two done recently?
Burrell: W - Yuri Villefort (UD) | L - Chris Spang (TKO) | W - James Terry (SD)
Thompson: L - Matt Brown (UD) | W - Dan Stittgen (KO) | W - Patrick Mandio (UD)
How did these two get here?
Burrell made it to the UFC with a 3-1 Strikeforce record (although his loss came by TKO in his final Strikeforce fight), and was pressed into short notice action against fellow Strikeforce WW Yuri Villefort at UFC 157. The contest was entertaining and Burrell won by unanimous decision. Now just a few months removed from the Villefort win, he takes on karate specialist Stephen Thompson. Technically, this is Burrell's UFC welterweight debut, as he came in way over the 171 lbs limit against Villefort, resulting in a change to a catchweight bout.
Thompson excited UFC fans with his head kick knockout of Dan Stittgen in his February 2012 debut. Two months later he was pitted (and favored) against veteran Matt Brown, but Brown absorbed Stephen's best shots and otherwise dominated Thompson en route to a unanimous decision victory. Thompson has been out of action for the past 13 months, with a fight against Besam Yousef scrapped due to injury.
Why should you care?
Much like Jeremy Stephens/Estevan Payan, these guys are strikers and we could have fireworks.
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