Woodley, Thompson keep it clean, skip trash talk
There seems to be only one path to UFC relevance and riches these days, the Conor McGregor route of incessant trash talking and belittling one’s opponent.
But ahead of the biggest card of the year to date, UFC 209 headliners Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson have eschewed verbal baiting and taunting.
The pair, who will face off in a rematch after tussling to an entertaining draw during their welterweight title bout at UFC 205 in November, are polite and respectful to each other. At a recent media luncheon they sat together for nearly an hour, fielding questions without resorting to schoolyard name-calling.
It is all a little puzzling and, frankly, refreshing.
“There are a lot of guys out there who like to be mad and get angry at their opponent, but that’s not me,” Thompson said. “It doesn’t matter who I face, I am going to show them respect. I understand that when we go out there it is going to be a sporting event. It doesn’t have to be personal.”
Thompson’s mild-mannered approach comes largely from his upbringing and philosophy about combat sports. Despite his rise through the UFC ranks, the 34year-old from Simpsonville, S.C., still runs a children’s karate program in his hometown, where he teaches self-defense techniques to more than 600 youngsters.
Strutting, swaggering and spewing vitriol in the manner of McGregor or his growing army of imitators would not sit into that framework.
“These kids are watching every move I make,” Thompson said. “So I want to be a good example to them. You can talk about me all you want, but I have always been a positive guy.”
Thompson has lost once in MMA but came close to another defeat when he faced Woodley at Madison Square Garden in November. One judge had Woodley winning by a point, with the other two having the scores even, meaning that a majority draw decision prevailed and Woodley kept the belt.
Woodley goes into the fight with a chip on his shoulder, having made it clear he believes he has been poorly treated by the organization.
He recently hinted at the possibility of a racially motivated agenda, repeatedly insisting he would have been treated different by the UFC and its fans if he were not black. It is a fact that black champions such as himself and Demetrious Johnson do not have the same kind of crossover appeal as the likes of McGregor or Ronda Rousey, though opinion is still divided as to why that is.
In the build-up to the previous fight with Thompson, Woodley said he believed that the challenger, and not Woodley as champion, was being given preferential billing.
Yet although Woodley’s views are held with conviction, he is not the type of character to go overboard with outrageous comments.
Especially those aimed at his opponent.
“I am just happy being me,” he said. “I am not about putting someone else down to make myself look better. I prove my strength and my ability with what I do when I fight. Anything else is just words.”
Big things could await the winner of Woodley vs. Thompson, with the most intriguing recent development being the return of MMA legend Georges St-Pierre after a three-year layoff. St-Pierre has been booked to fight middleweight champ Michael Bisping this year, but it would be a surprise if Saturday’s victor does not feature somewhere in the Canadian’s near future.
For Woodley and Thompson, the prospect of a brighter and more lucrative future is right in front of them. There is a lot on the line, and they don’t need hostile words to prove it.
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