Stephen Thompson is classy in defeat.
Thompson took on Darren Till earlier today (May 27). The action took place inside Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. “Wonderboy” lost the bout via controversial unanimous decision.
Two of the three judges scored the fight 49-46 for Till, which many found to be egregious. Many media members scored the fight 48-47 for Thompson. Till’s failure to make weight before the bout certainly adds to the outrage.
One man who has kept his cool is Thompson. Despite the questionable scores, “Wonderboy” told Megan Olivi that he’s using it as a learning experience (via MMAJunkie.com):
“You know what? It is what it is. I’m going to go back and definitely learn from this. But hat’s off to Darren.”
With the loss, Thompson is sure to lose his number one spot on the welterweight rankings barring something as drastic as a drug violation on Till’s end. UFC president Dana White did say at the post-fight press conference that the promotion will work hard to ensure Thompson gets what he wants for his next bout as a “thank you” for taking the bout at Liverpool.
Till becomes just the third man to defeat Thompson. Prior to today’s bout, Thompson had only lost to Matt Brown and current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. What’s next for Thompson remains in the air, but he will have his eyes peeled on the Colby Covington vs. Rafael dos Anjos bout as mentioned during the post-fight presser.
“The Gorilla” even admitted that he wouldn’t be upset if Thompson ended up getting a title shot ahead of him despite the loss. Till took responsibility for his failure to make weight and is willing to do what the UFC asks of him next. With that said, “The Gorilla” prefers to fight in England again.
What do you think is next for Stephen Thompson?
