"I'm not a gatekeeper" - Stephen Thompson sets up two-fight plan involving Kamaru Usman for one final push towards welterweight title

Stephen Thompson provided an interesting update regarding his next UFC bout as he sets his sights on making another push towards the welterweight championship.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'Wonderboy' responded to comments made by Kamaru Usman during a recent interview, where he said that he would consider fighting him if the offer was presented. Thompson mentioned that instead of fighting younger surging contenders in the division, he would welcome that fight with the former welterweight champion.

He said:

"Let's fricken go!...You got the guy - the number one contender - the former UFC champ, one of the greatest fighters called me out. And this was a guy I thought I would face one day and never did and I think he was thinking the same thing, and I was just like, let's make this fight happen. Are you kidding me?" [2:44 - 3:03]

The former UFC title challenger was thrilled with the possibility of fighting 'The Nigerian Nightmare', which could earn him a title shot should he win. Stephen Thompson mentioned that he would have an opportunity to prove to both the fans and UFC management that he isn't a gatekeeper in the division, saying:

"I wanna show the UFC...and the fans that I'm not a gatekeeper. I got a small window to kind of do what I want to do in the fight game, I'm 40-years-old and when I see a chance to go for another title shot before it's over when Kamaru Usman calls me out, I'm like dude, no brainer." [3:21 - 3:37]

It will be interesting to see if the UFC books Stephen Thompson vs. Kamaru Usman soon as they look to fill out their remaining pay-per-view events for 2023.

Check out the full video:

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Stephen Thompson explains effects of his weight cut following UFC 291

Stephen Thompson explained what some of the effects of his recent weight cut have been on his body now that he is 40-years-old.

It's common for athletes and fighters to experience changes in their bodies as they get older, so 'Wonderboy' describing what he goes through is very informative for fans. In the aforementioned video, he mentioned that it takes him a few weeks to return to his normal weight, saying:

"The weight cut does a lot of things to my body now too. After the weight cut, after the fight, for weeks my body holds on to everything...Man, I'm trying to take all kinds of stuff...and try to get everything drained so that way I can get back to my natural weight." [1:16 - 1:36]

UFC 291 official weigh-in