If he beats Anthony Pettis at UFC Nashville, Stephen Thompson wants fight with Robbie Lawler next

Stephen Thompson still has Robbie Lawler on his mind

“Wonderboy” asked for a fight with “Ruthless” last year only instead to see Lawler face off against Ben Askren at UFC 235. While he still needs to take care of business against Anthony Pettis this Saturday, Thompson is still interested in that fight and would love for that matchup to take place close to home.

“Lawler is definitely the fight I’ve been wanting for a while,” Thompson told MMAJunkie. “I’ve been a big fan of him and he’s been such a monster in the welterweight division. I thought he looked great in his last fight with Ben (Askren). He looked really strong and just really focused. I think that year off gave him some time to heal up and get his mind right. I think that would be awesome. I know there’s a card happening in Greenville, S.C., my hometown, three months from now. Hopefully come out of this fight unscathed and we’ll make that fight happen.”

First, Stephen Thompson needs to take out former lightweight champion Pettis in the main event of UFC Nashville on ESPN+. Being on the sidelines for close to a year, the 35-year-old knows what’s at stake with a big victory against the Roufusport product.

 “I think a big win over Pettis is going to put me back in the limelight,” he said. “It’s been almost 10 months since I fought and out of sight out of mind. People stop talking about you, forget about you and I just want to let everyone know that I’m still here. But a win over Lawler – he’s a former welterweight champion. He’s one of the best strikers in the division and has been in the game for a while. It may not move me up (in the rankings), but it still shows everybody I’m here if I can do what I’m going to do Saturday and fight Lawler in my hometown and prove that, ‘Stephen is still here, let’s give him that shot again.’”

UFC Nashville takes place this Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. It airs on ESPN+ (get a free trial here).

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/22/2019.