UFC 244: Stephen Thompson Sees a Lot of Jorge Masvidal in Vicente Luque

Stephen Thompson is all set to face rising welterweight Vicente Luque at UFC 244, and as it turns out, “Wonderboy” believes he’s already faced a fighter pretty similar: Jorge Masvidal.

Thompson’s bout with Masvidal

Roughly this time two years ago, Thompson was booked to fight Masvidal at UFC 217, which like Saturday’s UFC 244 card, also went down at Madison Square Garden. On that November 4th night, Thompson worked his way to a decision win over Masvidal.

At the time, Thompson was coming off a decision loss to now former champ, Tyron Woodley. Masdvidal, meanwhile, was coming off a split decision loss to Demian Maia.

Thompson vs. Luque

Well, fast forward to today, and Thompson is set to throw hands with the aforementioned Luque. While Thompson is looking to get back on track, after being knocked out by Anthony Pettis ins his last fight, Luque is riding a six-fight winning streak.

While talking to the media recently about what he expects on Saturday night, Thompson had this to say about Luque (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“The guy has some great knockouts, has fought some really good guys,” Thompson said. “He’s on a six-fight winning streak. (He’s) kind of like a Dutch kickboxer style, but good everywhere. It’s almost like I fought him before in Masvidal – very similar styles. Good everywhere, good wrestling, good jiu-jitsu, but with guys like that, you’ve got to be ready everywhere. But I feel that he’s going to want to keep this fight standing, so I don’t mind that at all.”

It’s an interesting comparison, and really, Luque supporters should see it as big compliment. Although Luque narrowly got past Mike Perry in his last bout – via split decision – prior to that he finished five straight opponents.

This is a big fight for both men, as Thompson needs a win to remain in the title shot mix, and a victory for Luque would propel him into top contender status. While talking about his mindset heading into this bout, Thompson also relayed this:

“For me, I want to be the best fighter in the world,” Thompson said. “That title is still right in the forefront of my brain. I know I can win, I know I can fight for the title again here soon, and with a good win over Vicente Luque, I could be there very soon.”

It’s a fascinating match-up, no question, and it’s a fight that should deliver plenty of memorable exchanges. Here is the line-up to date for UFC 244.

170 lbs.: Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz
155 lbs.: Kevin Lee vs. Gregor Gillespie
265 lbs.: Blagoy Ivanov vs. Derrick Lewis
205 lbs.: Corey Anderson vs. Johnny Walker
135 lbs.: Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jennifer Maia
185 lbs.: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Darren Till
170 lbs.: Vicente Luque vs. Stephen Thompson
185 lbs.: Krzysztof Jotko vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
170 lbs.: Lyman Good vs. Chance Rencountre
145 lbs.: Julio Arce vs. Hakeem Dawodu
265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

*Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to change.