‘Wonderboy’ vs. ‘Ruthless’ in the works for UFC’s first ESPN card on 1/18
According to a report from MMA Junkie, a welterweight showdown between former champ ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is in the works for the promotion’s first card on ESPN in January.
According to a report from MMA Junkie, a welterweight scrap between former champ ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is in the works for the UFC’s first card on ESPN in mid-January.
Thompson, who has twice fought for the belt unsuccessfully (majority draw and close decision loss to Tyron Woodley), is off a controversial loss to Darren Till at UFC Liverpool earlier this summer. BrianEdwardsSports.com scored the fight 49-46 in favor of Thompson.
Thompson (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) sustained a knee injury in the loss to Till on the road. To further show how Thompson was robbed in Till’s hometown of Liverpool, 22 of 25 media outlets scored the bout in favor of the South Carolina product.
Lawler (28-12-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) tore his ACL in his last outing, a UD loss to Rafael dos Anjos last December. The 36-year-old kickboxer won the welterweight championship with a narrow decision win over Johnny Hendricks at UFC 181. Lawler defended his belt successfully twice in a pair of wars with Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit before losing it to Tyron Woodley via first-round KO at UFC 201 in Atlanta.
For my UFC Fight Night 135 Rewind of last night’s show in Lincoln, check out this link over at VegasInsider.com.
In other UFC news, Brock Lesnar has been pulled off of WWE Raw and his contract with the organization expires in a few days. He has already passed three drug tests by USADA, according to multiple reports. Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champ who last competed in the UFC 200 co-main event, will now fully focus on his training for a shot at Daniel Cormier’s (other) strap in early 2019.
Lesnar, who saw his UFC 200 unanimous-decision win over Mark Hunt reversed to a no-contest after he tested dirty for a PED, is currently a +220 underdog to Cormier (-280) at 5Dimes.
