Stephen Thompson wants Kamaru Usman next

• UFC

The welterweight veteran is ready to face the emerging contender from the division like Ian Machado Garry, but if the Kamaru Usman fight crystalizes into reality, he would definitely pick that over anything else. In spite of being 40 years old, Stephen Thompson is still ambitious about the future and is ready to fight for the title.

Kamaru Usman is happy with it, Stephen Thompson is happy with it; now it is up to the UFC to make it happen. Thompson last fought against Kevin Holland and secured a fantastic knockout win, he was also supposed to fight against Michael Pereira this year, but the match was called off because Pereira's weight exceeded the limit.

Stephen Thompson on what’s next

Stephen Thompson revealed that he wants to fight Kamaru Usman and talks about his plans for the future. “Let’s freaking go,” Thompson said, as quoted by mmafighting.com.

“I mean, I was willing to fight the JDMs, the Ian Garrys, the Shavkat [Rakhmanovs], but then you got the guy, the No. 1 contender, the former UFC champ, one of the greatest fighters, called me out. “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?’ I’ve been fighting [lower-ranked fighters] since Tyron Woodley — apart from Gilbert Burns — to be honest with you. I’ve been fighting those thirteens — the Geoff Neals, the Vicente Luques, the Belal Muhammads, you know, try to get that fight with Michel Pereira, who I think was 15 or 13 ...

Thompson on what he wants next: Giving these guys a shot.I want to show the UFC — and not just the UFC, the fans — that I’m not a gatekeeper. “It’s just an opportunity to face a guy that I’ve been wanting to fight for a while.

Obviously, [fighting champion] Leon Edwards, when I beat Kamaru Usman, that’s my plan. That’s who I want”.