Stephen Thompson won’t be surprised if Darren Till shoots for a takedown in Liverpool

Stephen Thompson, who holds the number-one spot in the UFC welterweight rankings, is confident that he’ll be too much for his UFC Liverpool opponent, eighth-ranked welterweight Darren Till.

“That’s what I’m out there to prove to the fans and everybody around the world,” Thompson told Damon Martin of MMAWeekly. “There are levels to this. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to do work. You’re going to see the level of that No. 1 and No. 8. UFC’s giving him a chance so I know he’s going to be coming prepared. Anybody in the UFC has a chance to knock you out. So I’m not going to take this guy lightly.”

“I’m going to prove to everybody this is why I’m No. 1 and there are levels to this game.”

Ahead of this fight, Till has made it very clear that he considers himself a better striker than Thompson. Thompson, however, won’t be surprised if Till ends up shooting for a takedown when he realizes he’s outmatched on the feet.

“I know that pretty much everybody I face is going to wind up wanting to take me down eventually,” Thompson said. “I know in some of Till’s earlier fights, he has tried to take people down. I know he prefers to stand up, which is something I want to do.

“He wants to prove he’s the better striker than me and that puts a smile on my face,” he added. “I hope that’s his plan.”

Stephen Thompson last fought in November, when he defeated Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision. This win was preceded by a pair of close fights with reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the first being a majority draw, the second a majority decision loss for Thompson.

Who do you think will come out on top when the cage door closes on Stephen Thompson and Darren Till in Liverpool?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/25/2018.