Stephen Thompson is down for a matchup of the oldest active fighters in the welterweight division after being called out at UFC on ABC 9.
Following a 42-second upset knockout of Carlos Leal on Saturday’s card in Abu Dhabi, Muslim Salikhov called for a showdown against Thompson (17-9-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) in what would be a pairing of two of the division’s most decorated strikers.
It didn’t take long for the 42-year-old “Wonderboy” to respond to the callout from 41-year-old Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC), and he seemingly obliged immediately (via X):
Thompson is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Gabriel Bonfim at UFC on ESPN 70 this month in what was the second-to-last fight on his current UFC contract.
Although Thompson admitted in a pre-fight interview with MMA Junkie that he’s unsure if he’ll be signed to a new deal, a clash with a fighter of similar age and style would be fitting matchmaking.
