Exclusive: Stephen Thompson nonplussed by Colby Covington's potential title shot against Leon Edwards - "10 years ago, that would have never happened"

Stephen Thompson remains perplexed by the possibility of Colby Covington getting a welterweight title shot against Leon Edwards.

Despite a period of inactivity since his decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022, Covington finds himself in a position of contention for a third title shot, as emphasized by UFC president Dana White. Covington's recent record stands at 2-2 in his last four fights, with both losses coming in title bouts against Kamaru Usman.

Rumors have been circulating that a matchup between 'Chaos' and UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards could materialize as early as November 11 at UFC 295, set to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Stephen Thompson expressed his bewilderment regarding the decision to grant Colby Covington a title shot instead of Belal Muhammad, who is regarded as more deserving due to his 10-fight undefeated streak. 'Wonderboy' told Andrew Whitelaw in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA:

"I think so. I think he [Belal] should be upset. I mean he's on a 10-fight win streak and you know what, Colby wins one fight and he fights for the title 'again' like what's the deal with that?"

He added:

"I mean like 10 years ago that would have never happened. It would have given it to the next guy with the good record, you know unbeatable record. I think it's more deserving but now that the fight the UFC has become more of an entertainment [company], people just want the most exciting, the most popular fight."

Check out Thompson's comments below (from 6:52):

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Stephen Thompson lists the last fight on his bucket list

Stephen Thompson will meet Michel Pereira in a welterweight fight on July 29 at UFC 291. The event will take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In the same interview, 'Wonderboy' was asked about his remaining aspirations in combat sports. He revealed that there is still one more fight left on his bucket list:

"To be able to fight the champ one last time, and Leon Edwards if he still has it, that makes for a really exciting fight. There’s a lot of guys that are ranked above me at the moment that are mostly grapplers. We’ve seen Leon do that. We’ve seen him do that in Kamaru Usman and win, come out on top. For him to fight another striker, I think that would be a really exciting fight for the fans."

Check out Thompson's comments below (from 5:00):