Thompson states case for title shot

With the list of worthy and intriguing potential challengers in front of Stephen Thompson in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's welterweight rankings, it was going to take a special performance Saturday night for him to make any sort of legitimate claim for a title shot.

That's exactly what Thompson delivered with a first-round knockout of former champ Johny Hendricks in the main event of UFC Fight Night 82 at the MGM Grand.

Thompson, who entered as the No. 8 contender in the UFC rankings, confounded and punished Hendricks, flawlessly executing his game plan before laying out the former champ against the cage as the referee mercifully stepped in at 3:31 to stop the fight.

It was Thompson's division-best sixth consecutive win and impressive enough to make it not sound silly when he called out champion Robbie Lawler despite all the big names that stand between them in the rankings.

"Defeating Johny Hendricks, a tough guy, the former champion and the No. 2 ranked contender, I'm asking for the title shot," Thompson said. "I know there's a lot of guys in line, but I think after that performance, I deserve it."

It would be tough for Hendricks, who defeated Lawler to win the vacant belt in March 2014 before losing the rematch in December of that year, to argue.

"I fought both of them. Robbie fights the way I like to fight. You're going to bite down on your mouthpiece and you're going to throw and then throw some more and then some more," Hendricks said. "I know Robbie's tough. Do I think he'd beat him? I don't know. Do I think he'd do good? Possibly."

Thompson, an accomplished kickboxer who comes from a karate background, looked comfortable from the opening bell despite stepping in against one of the most successful collegiate wrestlers to compete in the UFC.

"I had that attitude (that I would win) going in. I know what I'm capable of and just coming off this camp I had all the confidence in the world," he said. "I knew I could put him away. I just had to find the way to do it, just keep the fight standing up and I knew it was going to happen."

Thompson stayed busy with his kicks in an effort to keep Hendricks off balance and from getting too close to Thompson's legs.

He did have to fight off one good takedown attempt from Hendricks, who briefly got Thompson against the cage but couldn't get him to the mat.

"Once I was able to get out, I felt at home, I felt comfortable. Johny's a strong dude, man. But I knew if I could stuff that takedown and get back to the center, I could put him away. That's exactly what we worked on and it's exactly what I did," Thompson said. "I just stuck to my gameplan, kept him at the end of my hands and feet and the gameplan worked."

A title shot against Lawler is far from a certainty despite the starmaking performance by Thompson.

Tyron Woodley would have the biggest beef. He has won two fights in a row and believed he was next in line to fight for the title after Hendricks had to pull out of their No. 1 contender fight in October.

That opportunity instead was given to Carlos Condit, who lost a controversial split decision to Lawler in January. A rematch of one of the best welterweight title fights in UFC history is another possible booking for Lawler.

While Thompson still appears on the outside looking in for the next title shot, UFC president Dana White indicated his performance at least gave UFC officials something to think about before announcing Lawler's next challenger.

Unfortunately for Joseph Benavidez, the next flyweight title bout had been booked without him knowing and it made for a humorous moment during his post-fight interview in the cage.

Just before his bout against Zach Makovsky on Saturday night, the UFC flashed a graphic on the screen that Demetrious Johnson would defend his belt against Henry Cejudo at UFC 197 on April 23.

Benavidez, obviously unaware of the news after beating Makovsky, stated his case for a fight against Cejudo to determine the top contender.

Later at the news conference, Benavidez joked about at his timing.

"How perfect is that?" he laughed, before continuing to state his case for why he feels he should have earned the shot over Cejudo. "Nobody after his last fight was like, 'Man, I can't wait to see that guy fight for the title.' That was more my thing, but nobody had informed me that he had already got the title shot so that's old news now."

Benavidez is in the difficult spot of having won five fights in a row and 12 of his last 14, but with both losses coming against Johnson.

He knows there is a tough road to get a third shot at the champion, but insists he'll be ready when it happens.

"I feel I can always continue to get better every single fight. The way I look at it is I can fight the champion next and be this good, or I can fight him after another fight and be that much better," Benavidez said. "To me, it's an inevitable thing. I'm not going to lose until I do get there. I'm not out here begging for a title shot since I lost two, but of course that's the fight I want. That's the fight I'm working towards every single day."

Hendricks will now get back to work, as well. While he won't obsess over Thompson, Hendricks was already thinking about the possibility their paths could cross again one day.

"Every time I got close and landed anything, he was circling out trying to evade, evade, evade. We knew he'd do some of that. I didn't think it would be to that extent. Now that I realize it, how do you beat it? That's what I'm thinking about right now," Hendricks said. "How do I cut off that corner? That's how my brain's working right now. I'm still trying to figure out, if somebody beats me, how do I beat them? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to see him again. And when I do, I want to make sure it's not the same outcome."

Thompson hopes if there is a rematch, he will be putting his welterweight title on the line.

— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.