UFC 170's Stephen Thompson thinks two things when promised a standup fight

Undefeated kickboxer turned UFC lightweight Stephen Thompson listens to his opponents prior to a fight, but he doesn’t see the talk as actionable intelligence.

Word from his upcoming foe, Robert Whittaker, is that the two are going to stand and slug it out. On this, he has two thoughts, like he does every time he hears that.

“I get super excited, and I think it’s going to be a standup war, or he is just tricking me,” Thompson told MMAjunkie Radio.

Thompson (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Whittaker (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) meet in the opening pay-per-view bout of UFC 170, which takes place Saturday at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.

It is, of course, in most of Thompson’s opponents’ best interest to take him where he is less comfortable, though he said the gap between his striking and grappling skills is narrowing by the year.

In his most recent appearance, he executed a few takedowns before earning a TKO over Chris Clements, and now feels confident that he could beat Matt Brown, who was his first octagon opponent to fully exploit his deficiencies.

The loss, which came at UFC 145, gave Thompson his first career setback in MMA. But it did serve one purpose.

“It was a huge weight off my shoulders,” he said. “I’m upset that it happened, because I know that I’m a better fighter than that. I know I can beat Matt Brown. But it’s a good thing, because now I don’t have all that weight on my shoulders. I can just go on and fight now.”

That’s exactly what he plans to do in meeting Whittaker, a winner of “The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes” who recently encountered his first UFC setback with a split-decision loss to Season 11 winner Court McGee.

“I’ve had these few knockouts, but I want to test my wrestling,” Thompson said. “You always are aware and ready for wherever the fight goes. But I’m super excited for this one.”

Thompson and Whittaker both have spent time training at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, though never together. They both come from a traditional martial arts background and favor striking in the octagon.

But who knows what will happen for real.

“It makes me feel good that [Whittaker] says he is going to stand there and bang with me,” Thompson said. “He is a striker, but he trains at Tristar, and those guys have awesome wrestling, awesome jiu-jitsu, so I’m not going to take that away from him.”

Maybe one of these days, Thompson won’t have to pay attention to the pre-fight interview. Brown isn’t exactly known as a heavy talker. Thompson would know exactly what he was going to get.

“We put on a great show that night, and we were up for ‘Fight of the Night,’” he said. “I’m cheering Matt on. I think it’s great how he’s going through these guys, and it’s a good feeling to know I gave him the hardest fight of the last two years. I don’t know if I’m there yet, but if it happens, boom, it’s a yes.”

For the latest on UFC 170, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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