Thompson rooting for Usman to usurp Tyron Woodley at UFC 235

“For my career-wise, I would want Kamaru Usman to win. But man, Tyron is just another animal.”

It’s highly unlikely that Stephen Thompson will get another chance to challenge Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title, which is why ‘Wonderboy’ is rooting for Kamaru Usman to pull off the upset at UFC 235.

Thompson, who is 0-1-1 in title fights against Woodley, thinks it would better for his ‘career’ if Usman is crowned the new welterweight champion on March 2nd.

“Yeah, most definitely,” Thompson said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, per BJPenn.com’s Drake Riggs. “For my career-wise, I would want Kamaru Usman to win. But man, Tyron is just another animal. He’s another animal. His wrestling… Is very good. I think better than any of the guys that Usman has faced. I believe that Tyron’s striking is, he’s very explosive. They’re both gonna have their hands full.

“But for my career, yeah I would definitely want Usman to win.”

It’s easy to see why Thompson is rooting for ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ to win: With Usman as champ, Wonderboy has a much higher chance of earning another crack at the title. Still ranked in the top-four, Thompson is likely only a couple more wins away from another title shot - provided ‘T-Wood’ is no longer champ, of course.

Thompson will look to get back in the winner’s column at UFC Fight Night 148, where he meets welterweight debutant Anthony Pettis in the main event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on March 23.

Usman’s highly anticipated title bout against Woodley will feature as the co-main event of UFC 235, which takes place on March 2nd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.