This Saturday, Stephen Thompson finds himself in a matchup with a former UFC champion, but it probably wasn’t the one he was expecting.
After a couple of failed bids to win the welterweight championship two years ago, “Wonderboy” has kept busy while also lobbying for bouts with past titleholders Robbie Lawler and Rafael dos Anjos. Neither booking materialized, which made Thompson’s standing in the rankings murky. Now Thompson has surprisingly been paired up with former lightweight king Anthony Pettis for the main event of UFC Nashville and it’s still unclear what a win here will do for Thompson’s title hopes.