UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson have fought twice before, battling to a draw at UFC 205 and Woodley picked up a decision win at UFC 209.
Thompson is now moving onto a fight against Darren Till at UFC Fight Night Liverpool, but the champion refers believes his former challenger is nothing more than a divisional gatekeeper.
“‘Wonderboy’ the gatekeeper. He’ll do all my light work for me,” Woodley said on an Instagram Live Q&A. “All the dudes that think they want a shot at the strap, they’ve got to go through him, and ain’t nobody do it yet.”
Woodley has since gone onto defend the title once since the series with Thompson, defeating Damien Maia by decision at UFC 214. Thompson has also fought once since the battles with Woodley, defeating Jorge Masvidal by decision at UFC 217.
Speaking of UFC Fight Night Liverpool, a confident Woodley believes his former foe is going to get the duke over Darren Till.
“I think Thompson (will win) man, to be honest,” Woodley said. “I know I’ve talked a lot of trash about Thompson, more in light joking. But Thompson is a very difficult puzzle to figure out. And it took me a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of training partners to figure him out. I just don’t think Till has what it takes to take him out. With that said, I’ve got to go with ‘Wonderboy,’ even though he’s never said I was going to win a fight. But I’m just going to be a real guy and be honest: I think he’s going to win.”
The welterweight champion is still on the shelf after a late-2017 surgery and it is unknown at this time when he will return to the Octagon.
