Stephen Thompson and Jorge Masvidal have long wanted to fight each other, and they will finally get the chance to do so at Madison Square Garden.
A pivotal welterweight bout between Thompson and Masvidal is set for UFC 217, MMAWeekly.com and MMA Fighting reported Thursday evening. Masvidal also teased the matchup on social media. UFC officials have yet to confirm the news.
Thompson is coming off back-to-back fights with 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley. In the first fight, he fought “The Chosen One” to a majority draw, but he lost a close decision in the second fight at UFC 209 this past March. Prior to the title fights, “Wonderboy” was riding a seven-fight winning streak that included wins over Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks.
Masvidal has done wonders in the welterweight division since moving up in mid-2015. He recently had a three-fight winning streak, which included a knockout win over Donald Cerrone, snapped by top contender Demian Maia; he lost to the jiu-jitsu ace at UFC 211 in May by decision.
Ever since Thompson lost to Woodley and Masvidal lost to Maia, they have both discussed and expressed interest in this fight.
Thompson vs. Masvidal will likely take place on the pay-per-view main card, but the bout order for UFC 217 has yet to be finalized at this time.
UFC 217 takes place in New York City on Nov. 4 and is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champ Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre. Also on the card, 135-pound titleholder Cody Garbrandt will defend his title for the first time against former teammate T.J. Dillashaw.