UFC booking Stephen Thompson – Gilbert Burns

Stephen Thompson UFC
Oct 31, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Mixed martial artist Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson attends the New York Knicks game against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Catalina Fragoso-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC is in the process of finalizing a major matchup in the welterweight division. Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto this evening that Gilbert Burns (19-4) and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (16-4-1) have verbally agreed to face each other.

Per White, the matchup will take place at UFC 264. Earlier today, we learned that Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor had both signed on to headline the card on July 10th.

Given the magnitude of this welterweight matchup, it will likely serve as the co-main event on July 10th. Wonderboy has been wanting to fight the elites of the division again and he will get his chance at UFC 264.

Stephen Thompson took on arguably the two scariest young contenders at welterweight in his last two fights in Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque. Wonderboy dominated both of them and completely outclassed them on the feet.

After both of those wins, Wonderboy made it clear that he didn’t want to be the UFC‘s gatekeeper at 170 pounds. He’s been calling for a fight with Leon Edwards, but in my opinion, he’s getting one better in getting a shot at Gilbert Burns.

Potential UFC title eliminator?

After Gilbert Burns moved to the UFC’s welterweight division, he looked like a destroyer. Burns had defeated every fighter who stepped in front of him and that earned him a title shot at UFC 258 against Kamaru Usman.

When the fight started, it looked like Burns was going to have his crowning moment. Burns used his speed and power to drop Usman in the first round. However, after that moment, things went downhill.

Usman was able to regain his composure and ended up dominating the fight. The UFC welterweight champion stopped Burns early in the third round. Since that loss, Burns has been itching to get back into the cage.

This is a fantastic matchup at UFC 254. The welterweight division is in a very unique spot, but this could serve as a potential title eliminator. Either way, whoever wins, is going to be squarely in the discussion for the next crack at the championship.