Stephen Thompson doesn't have to engage in phony trash talk to try to build his case for a shot at Robbie Lawler's UFC welterweight title. He can just let his record do the talking.
"Wonderboy" scored a one-sided unanimous decision over highly regarded Rory MacDonald in the main event of UFC Fight Night 89 on June 18. That was his seventh straight victory and put him at 8-1 in the UFC.
As far as Thompson is concerned, that should make him a lock to meet the winner of the Lawler-Tyron Woodley bout at UFC 201.
"Will I be the first one in line for that shot? I haven't heard anything yet, man," Thompson said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. "What else do I have to do? I feel like i have done enough to deserve that title shot, more than the guy whose fighting for it now."
Thompson when on to say he doesn't begrudge Woodley his shot at the belt, since the UFC was following through on a long-held promise. But he's a little worried about where things go from there. It remains to be seen at which weight class former longtime welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will land, as he's hinted at everything from middleweight to lightweight in his return.
So Thompson seems resigned to taking a back seat to GSP if that's how the cards play out.
"They did promise [Woodley] a fight," Thompson said. "Kudos to the UFC for doing what they said they were going to do. But man, after that what's going to happen? There's word that GSP is coming back, if you're just looking for that one big money fight, if he's coming back to the welterweight division."
All Thompson can do in the meantime is see how the Lawler-Woodley fight goes down and then bide his time.
"I feel they're going to wait until after this fight to tell me something," he said.