Stephen Thompson unhappy about Khamzat Chimaev getting a top-ranked UFC fighter

Stephen Thompson is set to fight Geoff Neal in the main event of the December 19th card. While he was originally scheduled for the co-main event, Leon Edwards tested positive for COVID-19 and his bout with Khamzat Chimaev was postponed.

Stephen Thompson originally wanted to fight Leon Edwards when the latter had no fight booked. The British fighter, however, chose Khamzat Chimaev because he felt that outside of a title shot and Jorge Masvidal, the Swedish sensation was the biggest name he could face to get him ahead.

Stephen Thompson doesn't share the same sentiment. Speaking to theScore, the former Welterweight title challenger stated that he was clueless when the rumors first broke out about him potentially fighting Khamzat Chimaev: Thompson said,

“I think it might’ve been Khamzat’s manager, Ali (Abdelaziz), kind of throwing some stuff out there. I got on Instagram one night and I saw it kind of blew up: “Wonderboy’s fighting Khamzat, Wonderboy’s fighting Khamzat.” They were all foreign media outlets, and I’m like, “What? What is this?” I had no idea what it was, and I called my manager, and they were like, “I have no idea what this is.”

Stephen Thompson, usually considered one of the nicest fighters in MMA, uncharacteristically went off on Khamzat Chimaev, stating that he had no right to get a top-ranked opponent:

“Even then, it still wouldn’t be a fight that I would want. The guy’s had one fight at welterweight (in the UFC). One fight. What gives this guy the right to jump over everybody that worked their behinds off to get to where they’re at? It just didn’t make sense.”

Is Stephen Thompson right about Khamzat Chimaev?

Stephen Thompson has a valid point about Khamzat Chimaev, but ultimately, there were two factors that played against what he said. Firstly, Leon Edwards said that he wanted to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Secondly, and most importantly, UFC is keen on giving the Swedish fighter a massive promotional push.

While it's clear that Khamzat Chimaev is a standout talent in UFC, it's hard not to empathize with higher-ranked fighters who have to take more fights to reach a higher level.

Leon Edwards is on a five-year, eight-fight winning streak and still hasn't gotten a title shot. Stephen Thompson, on the other hand, will have to get a minimum of two wins before getting another title shot, and even then, it isn't guaranteed.