Stephen Thompson on Darren Till fight: “If Darren Till fight wasn’t in Liverpool I think I would win”
By now, you as a UFC fan are still probably thinking about the UFC Fight Night 130 main event from this past Sunday that saw two welterweight contenders Stephen Thompson and Darren Till do battle. While some fans might be thinking about how awesome of a fight it was, others are instead thinking about the controversy that surrounds it, and so is “Wonderboy.”
The contest saw back and forth action for most of the fight, but some will argue that Thompson was getting the better of Till in the midst even though Darren Till stayed aggressive throughout.
After both men having their moments in the fight in going the distance, fans anticipated a razor thin split decision once the judges scorecards were revealed, however it turned out to be a stunning unanimous decision victory for Till. As expected, Wonderboy was furious about the verdict as he felt he had won at least 2 of the 3 rounds. Still frustrated over the fight, Thompson aired out his thoughts on on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour. As he believed the only reason the fight resulted the way it did was because it was in Till’s home country but the fight been in U.S. the fight would’ve gone in his favor and feels the judges scoring could’ve been better.
“I know close fights are very hard in the moment,” Thompson said. “But there seems to be a lot of that happening recently. But I think [I would have won if the fight was not in Liverpool]. I really do. I think so. Darren is definitely a tough guy, man. He’s a very confident person. Definitely built for the fight game. And yeah, I think I would win that fight.”
Thompson then assumed that another reason the fight might’ve went Till’s way was because of the influence the raucous fans in Liverpool that could’ve steered the judges between exchanges.
You’ve gotta be professional out there,” Thompson said. “I’d like to think of the judges as being professional and not thinking that and them focusing on the fight and not what the fans are doing. I literally didn’t hear a damn thing out there. I didn’t hear the crowd. People were saying that every time a punch would whiff by you — not even make contact — the crowd was going crazy. I don’t know. That could be a possibility, yeah.”
Regardless of the bizarre result, Wonderboy stayed his calm, cool, collective self as he explained he already knew in his mind that Till was probably gonna win the fight prior to the scorecards being read.
“Once they make that announcement, I’m not gonna go out there and pitch a fit,” Thompson said. “I’m gonna take it like a man and be a gentleman. I’m gonna shake my partner’s hand and that’s how it should be done. I can’t go back and change it.”
Wonderboy says he spoke to Dana White about a possible rematch with Till, if that can’t happen he expressed interest in facing the winner of the UFC Interim Welterweight Title bout with Rafael Dos Anjos- Colby Covington.
Bottom line, Stephen Thompson is gonna stay true to his style and won’t change anything as he works his way back to a UFC Welterweight Title shot.
“I do respect everybody who I step in the Octagon with,” Thompson said. “I know there’s a strategy to a lot of these guys making comments about people, making them mad. It’s part of the strategy to get in their head. It’s mental warfare, basically. And I understand that.”
What do you believe is next for Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson?
