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At the age of 39, Stephen Thompson is as determined as ever to capture UFC welterweight gold and has insisted that he intends to go on a two-or-three-fight winning streak to earn a title shot, starting against Kevin Holland.
The former kickboxer is approaching his 19th UFC fight, and hopes to call an end to his bad run of form inside the octagon with a win on December 3. Despite being ranked #6 in the division, 'Wonderboy' hasn't claimed a win in almost two years. Most recently, he suffered back-to-back losses to Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.
Sharing his thoughts on the dangers ahead of him, Stephen Thompson continues to hang on to the prospect of one day becoming the UFC welterweight champion. Even so, he knows it's going to be a tough road to returning to the top of the division.
"Not a whole lot of people get to fight for the title. I fought for it twice, and I didn't get it. I know I'm two or three fights away from getting another title shot. I know there's a murderer's row in front of me, that's why I love this game, because of the chess match. December 3rd, main event against Kevin Holland. This guy is a killer. He's a great striker, probably one of the best... When you watch this guy fight, he gets better and that's a scary guy... My hand's going to be raised at the end of this fight, then I'm gonna go for the title."
Last time out, 'Trailblazer' came up short against Khamzat Chimaev on incredibly short notice. The loss ended his two-fight streak at welterweight. With championship aspirations of his own, the 30-year-old will be looking to put on a display this weekend.
Check out what Stephen Thompson said about his goals for the remainder of his career in the video below:
Stephen Thompson's history against strikers
With an unbeaten record in kickboxing, Stephen Thompson entered the octagon as a highly touted striker. He has managed to prove his ability on multiple occasions inside the octagon.
Throughout almost 20 fights with over a decade of experience in the UFC, the welterweight has only lost to a handful of fighters who can be considered standup fighters.
A controversial decision loss to Darren Till and a shock knockout loss against Anthony Pettis are the only two notable losses where Thompson was beaten in the striking game.
