Stephen Thompson recently faced Gilbert Burns in one of the biggest MMA events of the year. The pair faced each other at the co-main event of UFC 264, and Burns’s won that fight via a unanimous decision. Following Burns’s victory, people have been speculating as to what is next for both fighters.
Many expected the fight between Burns and Thompson to be one of the best of the night. However, after the fight was done, many thought that the fight was boring, and both fighters did nothing special. During a recent interview, Gilbert Burns’s manager Ali Abdelaziz was talking about the same.
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He said, “Listen, Gilbert Burns never been in a boring fight, but listen, Stephen Thompson is a great guy. But I think he’s one of the most boring guys in the UFC, because you have to put yourself in harm way for him to be exciting. He doesn’t do anything, when’s the last time, he been in an exciting fight. He’s a great fighter, I’m not taking anything away from him, but he’s one of the most boring guys in the division.”
Many believe that at 38 the best fighting days of Wonderboy’s career are behind him. Thompson has just won 2 out of his last 5 fights and therefore many believe he should retire now. Even Abdelaziz seems to believe that the best is behind Thompson and he has nothing left to give.
He said, “Every fighter would be thinking, why they want to fight this guy. He’s 40 years old, he fought for a world title 2 time; I don’t think he ever gonna be a champion.”
Ali Abdelaziz thinks Kamaru Usman would ‘retire’ Stephen Thompson
Before his UFC 264 fight with Gilbert Burns, Thompson had claimed that he should face Usman and that he is a bad match up for the champion. Abdelaziz responded to those claims made by Wonderboy.
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He said, “He was saying he is a bad matchup for Kamaru Usman; he is crazy. Kamaru would have retired him. He’s a great guy. I don’t talk a lot of shit about him, but I personally don’t like to watch him fight. I’m not a fan of his fighting, but I think he’s a great ambassador for the sport.”
While Abdelaziz clearly seems to respect Thompson for everything he has done for the sport. He does not believe that the fighter can compete at the top level of UFC anymore.
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What do you think will Thompson compete for the title, one more time? Let us know in the comments below.