The rematch is official! UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley has confirmed that his next fight will be a rematch against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 209.
Woodley, who won the belt from Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC 201, confirmed the news on his podcast, The Morning Wood Show.
Woodley (16-3-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) made the transition from Strikeforce to the UFC in 2013, and went 2-1 with the promotion. 2014 was the year “T-Wood” really made waves, though, as he started the year by defeating Carlos Condit. That victory was followed by a decision loss to Rory MacDonald, but Woodley got back on track by stopping Dong Hyun Kim in 61-seconds. Woodley defeated Kelvin Gastelum via split decision in January of 2015, and insisted he would not fight again unless it was for a title. His wish was granted and he delivered on his promise to win the belt, stopping Robbie Lawler in just over two minutes at UFC 201. His first defense of the title came against Stephen Thompson, but after a back and forth five round war, the fight was declared a draw.
Thompson (13-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) went 1-1 in his first two UFC bouts, with a victory over Dan Stittgen and a loss to Matt Brown before going on a seven fight tear. A decision over Nah-Shon Burrell was followed by stoppages over Chris Clements and Robert Whittaker before “Wonderboy” took a dominant decision victory over Patrick Cote at UFC 178. Following the win, Thompson stopped Jake Ellenberger with a wheel kick before picking apart, and subsequently finishing Johny Hendricks in the first round of their bout. The 33-year-old then headlined his third straight UFC card, and defeated Rory MacDonald over the course of five rounds at UFC Ontario. The victory over MacDonald clinched a title shot for Wonderboy, but he couldn’t quite get the nod. He’ll certainly be looking to take this win this time around.
UFC 209 takes place live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4, 2017. With this latest addition, here is what the current fight card looks like:
- Tyron Woodley (C) vs. Stephen Thompson – UFC Welterweight Championship
- Alistair Overeem vs. Mark Hunt – Heavyweight
- Darren Elkins vs. Mirsad Bektic – Featherweight
- Todd Duffee vs. Mark Godbeer – Heavyweight
- Lando Vannata vs. David Teymur – Lightweight
- Paul Craig vs. Tyson Pedro – Light Heavyweight
- Iuri Alcantara vs. Luke Sanders – Bantamweight
