‘It Literally Made Him Break Character’- Stephen Thompson Explains How He Shut Tyron Woodley Up With His ‘Niceness’

Published 12/15/2021, 8:48 AM EST

Stephen Thompson is undoubtedly one of the toughest fighters in the UFC. His toughness has helped him overcome some of the best welterweights in the promotion, including Jorge Masvidal and Rory MacDonald. Even though he is such a bully in the octagon, the ‘Wonderboy’ is one of the nicest fighters in person.

In a recent interview with RT Sport MMA, Thompson spoke about how his niceness helped him break Tyron Woodley’s character ahead of their fight.

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In the build-up to their fight, Tyron Woodley was trash-talking his opponent, as almost all fighters do. However, this didn’t work well on the ‘Wonderboy’ and he cracked Woodley up with his ‘niceness.’

In the interview, he said,” Yeah man, he (Woodley) was out there talking so much trash. You know I was like, number one, I don’t know where he was getting this stuff from, you know. And I was like, why you gotta be so mean. It literally made him break character. It was the best. I try and eat him up, with niceness. That’s the plan, you know. Eat him up with niceness.”

We know Stephen Thompson to be one of the most respectful and kind fighters that the UFC has ever signed. You will rarely see him talk trash about his opponents. Be it the fights he has won or lost, he’s always shown respect to all his competitors.

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What’s next for Stephen Thompson?

Stephen Thompson will return to the octagon this weekend after his loss to Gilbert Burns earlier this year. The ‘Wonderboy’ will be taking on the number ten welterweight contender, Belal Muhammad, in a three-round fight.

Thompson currently stands fifth in the welterweight rankings and a win for him couldn’t bring him one step closer to a title shot. Both fighters are incredible strikers and aren’t that easy to take down. Owing to the nature of both contenders, fans can expect the fight to be a nail-biter.

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Who do you think will win at UFC Vegas 45 this weekend? Belal Muhammad or the ‘Wonderboy’? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Pranit Punjabi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. A third-year psychology major, this Khabib Nurmagomedov fan merged his interest in psychology with his deep passion for MMA and was intrigued by this new angle to help him get closer to the action. Pranit aims to look through the violence and chaos, into what makes MMA truly beautiful, the deep and rich psychological aspect of the game.

‘It Literally Made Him Break Character’- Stephen Thompson Explains How He Shut Tyron Woodley Up With His ‘Niceness’

What’s next for Stephen Thompson?

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