There are few UFC welterweights who are campaigning harder for a UFC welterweight title shot than former interim champion Colby “Chaos” Covington.
Covington wants his rematch with UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman, but he’s not alone in his desires. Leon “Rocky” Edwards is the other man who wants a second go at things with “The Nigerian Nightmare” after seeing Jorge Masvidal get his two fights with the 170-pound champion.
The outlier is Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. A man who isn’t renowned for his trash talk, he recently told MMA Fighting that he thinks Usman should face someone he hasn’t already fought before and Thompson fits the bill.
“Fight somebody you haven’t fought yet,” Thompson said. “You beat pretty much everybody except me in the top five. That’s it.
“Of course, you’ve got Michael Chiesa, who is No. 6, he hasn’t fought Michael Chiesa either. But keep on going down the line. You beat everyone up here, who’s next? It’s this guy.”
Wonderboy has fought for the UFC belt twice before, battling to a majority draw at UFC 205 with Tyron Woodley in 2016, before losing by majority decision in their subsequent rematch at UFC 209 four months later.
Not one to keep quiet on this kind of thing, Covington believes Thompson is past his sell-by date at 38-years-old, and that he should be nowhere near the UFC welterweight title picture.
“The guy is a joke,” Covington told said on MMA Fighting show What the Heck. “He thinks he’s cool with his karate. He’s not a well-rounded fighter and he doesn’t deserve anything. He’s already had his title shots. He doesn’t deserve anything. Honestly, he should probably just retire.
“He’s gonna get hurt, for sure. He’s gonna come back for a paycheck, and these guys don’t know when to leave. You’ve got to know when it’s your time to hang it up. Your time has passed, you’re gonna get really hurt if you want to stay in this. But some guys want to take a paycheck to ruin their health.”
Thompson is currently riding a two-fight win streak, beating the dangerous Vicente Luque at UFC 244 in November 2019 and followed that up with a dominant decision win over Geoff Neal this past December.
He is currently in training camp to take on Gilbert Burns, whose last fight saw him face Usman for his belt in February, at UFC 264 in July.
If Wonderboy can put on a spectacular performance against a recent title contender, then he could overtake Covington in the UFC welterweight title picture. However, Covington, as expected, disgarees.
“If anything, that guy needs to stop complaining, man,” Covington told Heck in that interview. “He’s had, what, two or three title shots? He’s had more title shots than anyone in this division.
“He got destroyed by Woodley. He got dropped, bloody. Man, the guy’s a bum. I don’t know why he’s trying to talk like he deserves a title shot. You just got knocked out by Anthony Pettis like a year or two ago. A lightweight, a guy that’s not even signed by the UFC anymore.
“You’re on a two-fight winning streak. Your last fight you were beating a busboy for Outback Steakhouse. Think about that for a second.”
