The doors have once again opened for former UFC Welterweight title challenger Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson. He was on a 2-fight skid, but his performance against Vicente Luque at UFC 244 put him right back in the win column.
While he hasn't earned a title shot by any means, he only has a couple more fights to go before he can make that claim again. Since the Welterweight division is essentially a shark tank, he has all kinds of match-ups in front of him.
In an interview with Combate (H/T Credit Bloody Elbow), Wonderboy revealed that he has three names he's targetting for a potential match-up in the future. He described Demian Maia as one of the most realistic ones, calling him "really scary" even at the age of 41:
“Maia is a really tough and scary guy, no matter what you say. He’s 41, but he would kill in the blink of an eye on the ground. He would grab you by the wrists and drag you down until he strangled you. He’s a really scary guy. I’d need a long time to prepare for him, but I would love to finish anyone in this division, especially in the top 15.
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Two big-money fights for him, of course, would be a rematch against Jorge Masvidal and one against Nate Diaz
“I’d love to fight Masvidal or Nate, but a fight against Demian could definitely happen in the future.”
Naturally, the latter two fights seem a bit unrealistic as of now since Masvidal is likely next in line for a title shot or a rematch with Nate Diaz. Dana White didn't seem keen on running back Masvidal-Diaz right away, though Gamebred told Diaz right after the stoppage that they would run it back.
As of now, Stephen Thompson vs Demian Maia seems to be the most realistic match-up and the one that we could be seeing next!