Stephen Thompson (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Now that Kamaru Usman is the UFC’s welterweight champ, Stephen Thompson believes the road back to a title fight has become significantly shorter.

Usman ended Tyron Woodley’s reign as champion earlier this month at UFC 235, by recording a one-sided decision win. In advance of Thompson’s fight this Saturday with Anthony Pettis, “Wonderboy” had this to say about the situation (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Having a new champion, I knew it was going to be better for my career,” Thompson said. “Nobody wants to see Thompson vs. Woodley 3, and I kind of understood that. I would have to have two or three more fights before I even get that shot again. This, now that we’ve got a new champion, is going to be a faster way up.

“The division has changed dramatically since the last time I fought. Got a new champion, Darren Till got knocked out by a guy (Jorge Masvidal) that I’ve already beat. It’s up in the air. I’m ranked No. 4 right now, so any one of us could be fighting for that title again.”

Thompson and Woodley battled to a majority draw in their first, 2016 bout, and Woodley went on to win their 2017 rematch via majority decision.