UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson is back in the losing track after being defeated by Darren Till via a controversial unanimous decision verdict over the weekend in Liverpool, England. For “Wonderboy”, the fight being held in his opponent’s hometown may have played a big role in the judges’ decision.
“I know close fights are very hard in the moment,” Thompson said on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting). “But there seems to be a lot of that happening recently. But I think [I would have won if the fight was not in Liverpool]. I really do. I think so.”
“Darren is definitely a tough guy, man. He’s a very confident person. Definitely built for the fight game. And yeah, I think I would win that fight.”
Thompson believes the judges may have been swayed by the audience in attendance in the arena, a great majority of which were expectedly cheering on Till.
“I’d like to think of the judges as being professional and not thinking that and them focusing on the fight and not what the fans are doing,” Thompson said. “I literally didn’t hear a damn thing out there. I didn’t hear the crowd. People were saying that every time a punch would whiff by you — not even make contact — the crowd was going crazy. I don’t know. That could be a possibility, yeah.”
Now 1-2 in his last three fights, Thompson dropped to a record of 14-3-1 (with eight wins by stoppage).
Wonderboy’s interview begins at the 3:!4:32 mark of the video above.
About the author
