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Stephen Thompson returned to Submission Radio this week (in video form) to discuss a whole bunch of things.
Some of the topics covered:
How Thompson rates Till’s striking compared to his
If Till is underestimating him a little bit
Given the Colby Covington vs. Rafael Dos Anjos match-up, if it makes sense to have an interim title currently in the 170 division
Some of the topics covered:
- Upcoming Darren Till fight
- If he feels the UFC are trying to feed him to Till
- Going over into Till's backyard and having the event centered around Till
- Being the bad guy for the first time ever
- Till's striking being predictable
- Colby Covington avoiding Kamaru Usman backstage at the UFC presser
- Stipe hitting him with the "poo stache" finger
- Covington vs. RDA prediction
- If the interim belt even makes sense
- The rumors of Conor vs. RDA initially being targeted for the interim 170 belt
- Fighting Conor in the future
- His thumbs post-surgery
How Thompson rates Till’s striking compared to his
“Well, compared to mine, I mean, it’s kind of… I mean, I think I’ve faced better strikers, yes.”
“I think Rory MacDonald is a great striker, I think Jorge Masvidal is an excellent striker. He also put Cerrone out in the first round, knocked him out. I think he knocked out Cerrone and then Darren Till knocked out Cerrone. Yeah, Cerrone was on a three-fight losing streak, I believe, and I think his last opponent was Masvidal before he faced Till. He goes out, he predominantly keeps his right side forward, he’s got a mean left hand, he throws his left kick, likes to throw a left elbow and I think that’s it. You know, he’s I think kind of predictable. I think him coming out there, he might have a few tricks up his sleeve, but whenever you’re pushed, whenever you’re pressured you always go back to the way you usually fight. I remember Johny Hendricks coming out there saying he’s got something new, but whenever he was pressured he went back to his old self, and that’s what made it easy.”
“I think Rory MacDonald is a great striker, I think Jorge Masvidal is an excellent striker. He also put Cerrone out in the first round, knocked him out. I think he knocked out Cerrone and then Darren Till knocked out Cerrone. Yeah, Cerrone was on a three-fight losing streak, I believe, and I think his last opponent was Masvidal before he faced Till. He goes out, he predominantly keeps his right side forward, he’s got a mean left hand, he throws his left kick, likes to throw a left elbow and I think that’s it. You know, he’s I think kind of predictable. I think him coming out there, he might have a few tricks up his sleeve, but whenever you’re pushed, whenever you’re pressured you always go back to the way you usually fight. I remember Johny Hendricks coming out there saying he’s got something new, but whenever he was pressured he went back to his old self, and that’s what made it easy.”
If Till is underestimating him a little bit
“I think so, I think so. And I don’t mind that at all. I don’t mind those guys going out there and underestimating me. Is he confident? Yes. And do you have to have confidence in this sport? Definitely. But you do kind of have a sense of overconfidence when it comes to Darren Till. And don’t underestimate me. I tell you that, just don’t underestimate me. You’ve seen that happen in the past and that doesn’t go very well. So I hope that he is training as hard as he can. I think he’s going to come out very dangerous, I think he’s gonna pressure, I think he’s gotta put on a show in front of his people, in front of his hometown. So, you know he’s gonna be money on that day, so I’m definitely prepared for that.”
Given the Colby Covington vs. Rafael Dos Anjos match-up, if it makes sense to have an interim title currently in the 170 division
“I don’t think it makes sense to be fighting for an interim title. If he (Tyron Woodley) says he’s going to be ready for July or even August, I mean, that’s like right around the corner. That’ll be here before you know it. So, why fight for an interim title? To me, I understand if he’s out for over a year. Then yeah, I think that should happen. But if he’s just around the corner, man, just say the winner of that will fight for the title. You don’t need an interim title for that. That’s just my opinion. And I think the way they’re kind of throwing those interim titles out there – of course, if I was fighting for it, if they had me fighting for it then I’d be like, ‘hell yeah, I’ll fight for the interim title’, you know what I mean? Like, who wouldn’t? – but then you could also say, you can stop and just be like, you know, they’re kind of giving them out left and right nowadays. I don’t know if it’s just me, it kind of diminishes the value of the actual title.”
