Stephen Thompson and Jorge Masvidal are each looking to climb their way up to a shot at the UFC welterweight title as they face off at tonight’s UFC 217.
Masvidal recently suffered a loss to Demian Maia, who went on to face UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. On the other hand “Wonderboy” faced the champion as of late, ultimately suffering a majority decision loss to the champion. Now the two fighters will face off in the sophomore match up on tonight’s pay-per-view main card.
UFC 217 is going down right now inside the Madison Square Garden Arena in New York. The pay-per-view event is set to see Georges St-Pierre make a return to the octagon after nearly four years away from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The fighter will be making his middleweight debut against reigning champion Michael Bisping in one of the night’s three exciting title fights.
Continuing the night of great octagon performances, Masvidal and “Wonderboy” faced off for division dominance.
The first round opened with an awkward pace, as the two fighters sized each other up. Thompson stuck his opponent with a head kick, but Masvidal quickly shrugged off the shot.
Masvidal began to pour on the pressure, as he tried to take control of the center of the octagon. Thompson quickly retaliated with a flurry of strikes that put Masvidal on his back foot.
Masvidal struck “Wonderboy” with a powerful leg kick, as the fighter was repeatably getting kicked to the body by Thompson throughout the round. Thompson eventually capitalized on his successful body kicks by knocking Masvidal off his balance and to the mat.
Masvidal swiftly made his way back to his feet, with the two fighters ending the round with a few more exchanges.
The second round opened with a faster pace, as Masvidal began to attack the front leg of his opponent with powerful kicks. The fighter rushed his opponent to the fence and landed a series of damaging strikes, before “Wonderboy” escaped the onslaught and returned to the center of the octagon.
Shortly after, Thompson managed to stun Masvidal with a knockdown strike. Masvidal made his way back to his feet, with the fighter retaliating with a vengeance.
Still, Masvidal was not able to stick his opponent with too many damaging shots, as “Wonderboy” continued to use his footwork to quickly get out of the way of danger.
With 50 second left in the second round, Masvidal landed a nice hook to the face of his opponent before the two fighters finished the round with a final exchange.
Masvidal opened the final round by putting pressure on his opponent. Rushing him against the cage, Masvidal managed to land a few quick blows before Thompson once again slipped out of danger.
The pace began to quicken, as the two fighters began throwing body shots with fury. Thompson countered Masvidal with a powerful right hand, but Masvidal simply increased his pace and the two fighters entered a firefight.
Masvidal managed to bloody the face of his opponent during the exchange, but Thompson retained his composure and continued to strike with the fighter.
With seconds left in the fight, the two fighters picked things up with an exciting exchange. In the end, Thompson managed to knock down his opponent one final time before the final beg rung.
UFC Results: Jorge Masvidal def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision
Counter right connects for @WonderboyMMA in round 1! #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/6mZHoQ9950
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2017
BIG right hand AGAIN from @WonderboyMMA drops Masvidal in round 2! #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/ViGSBi9PYx
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2017
Exchanging blows here in the final round #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/dH4dNVrUhN
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2017
