Jorge Masvidal interested in rematch with Stephen Thompson for UFC welterweight title

UFC welterweight superstar Jorge Masvidal says he’s interested in a rematch with Stephen Thompson if he defeats Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 and takes the title.

Masvidal spoke to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Monday after it was officially announced that he will be taking on Usman for the UFC welterweight title at this Saturday’s UFC 251 card on Fight Island. When asked about who some of his potential opponents could be for his first title defense should he get by Usman and take the belt, Masvidal named both Nate Diaz and Thompson as potential rematches he would like with the title on the line.

“There’s two guys that are on my radar heavy and Nate is definitely one of them. Cause no matter what, it was a good fight, Nate or the world didn’t get the results that we wanted. I know Nate obviously wants to run it back, I’m telling you, speaking from the heart, I want to run it back. When I get this title, would nothing be better than to give [Diaz] the opportunity he gave me to fight for his BMF belt. Come on, come fight for this belt now,” Masvidal said.

“Another dude that we’re going to definitely be scrapping at some point is Thompson. Not cause of nothing personal, I’ve got nothing but love and respect for this individual, but I would just love to run it back. I think that I can definitely do better than that night when he first met. I think that I match up well, man, so that’s definitely something that will be happening. Promises made, promises kept.”

Masvidal’s last loss came against Thompson at UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre in November 2017. “Gamebred” lost a unanimous decision that night to “Wonderboy” but much has changed in the years since then, as Masvidal is now at the top of the game and ranked higher than Thompson in the UFC rankings after stopping Diaz, Ben Askren and Darren Till.

Thompson, who is coming off of a win over Vincente Luque in his last fight at UFC 244 on the undercard of the Masvidal vs. Diaz card, is still one of the top-10 welterweights in the UFC, but it is still a bit surprising that Masvidal wants to run this one back when there are so many potentially bigger fights out there such as Colby Covington and Conor McGregor. Clearly, it’s a fight that Masvidal wants to have back, so let’s see what happens.

Would you like to see a rematch between Jorge Masvidal and Stephen Thompson?