Stephen Thompson will again be challenging for the UFC Welterweight Title this Saturday night at UFC 209.
While he wants to walk away champion, Thompson is also happy he will not have to fight a returning Georges St. Pierre.
“He was my inspiration from my transition from kickboxing to mixed martial arts,” Thompson said at the UFC 209 open workouts. “I spent a lot of time in Montreal training with him, helping him out with a lot of his camps. We have a good relationship. A better relationship than me and Rory (MacDonald) had. We were closer than that. But yeah, man. That’s something I don’t think I would ever (do).”
Thompson and Woodley fought to a majority draw the first time they fought at UFC 205. Winning the UFC Welterweight Title would be a dream accomplished for Thompson, who believes that GSP is the greatest welterweight of all time.
“He’s maybe the best welterweight of all time and for him to go to 185, I know he wants to try different things, maybe 185 or 155,” Thompson said. “I’m happy for him. I can’t wait to see Georges St-Pierre back out there again.”
UFC 209 takes place on Saturday, March 4 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson headlining. Fightful will be providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
