Stephen Thompson fired up as he eyes another title run

Stephen Thompson is still eyeing gold as he remains committed and determined to become UFC welterweight champion.

While speaking to MMA Junkie, Thompson opened up about his upcoming bout with Michel Pereira and what it could mean for him in the welterweight division. He mentioned that he needed to regroup and begin working his way back up the rankings if he wanted another title shot.

He said:

"For me, I think after those last two losses, I'm gonna have to do some work in order to get back to fight somebody that's ranked higher than me." [3:52 - 3:59]

Despite being 40-years-old, 'Wonderboy' still believes that he is fully capable of competing with the top welterweights in the UFC. He mentioned that he believes his recent win over Kevin Holland and a win over Pereira could get him closer to another welterweight title shot, saying:

"I think a good win over Kevin [Holland] and a good win over Michel Pereira, the next fight after that I could definitely be fighting somebody in the top-5. And that's the goal, to go for that title run again. And I feel like I still have the ability and the youthfulness to do so." [3:52 - 4:09]

It will be interesting to see whether Thompson is able to defeat 'Demolidor' and who he would call out should he earn a second straight win.

Check out the full video:

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When is Stephen Thompson fighting next?

Stephen Thompson returns to the octagon to fight exciting welterweight Michel Pereira at UFC 289, which is scheduled to take place at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 10.

'Wonderboy' is coming off an impressive win over Kevin Holland this past December, which was an entertaining striking battle that earned both fighters a post-fight bonus for Fight of the Night. The win was an important one as he snapped a two-fight losing skid that included losses to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns.

'Demolidor', on the other hand, is riding a 5-fight winning streak that includes wins over Khaos Williams and Santiago Ponzinibbio. His most recent loss was against Diego Sanchez in 2020, but it's important to note that he was winning the fight before getting disqualified for landing an illegal knee.