UFC champion Tyron Woodley reluctantly gave Stephen Thompson rematch

Though Stephen Thompson was disappointed to fall short in his bid to take the UFC welterweight title from Tyron Woodley in November, he took solace in the knowledge he would get a rematch after the fight was declared a majority draw.

Woodley had other ideas.

The champion publicly lobbied for potentially lucrative fights against lightweight champion Conor McGregor and returning former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. There also was brief talk about matchups with middleweight champion Michael Bisping and popular brawler Nick Diaz.

Instead, Woodley eventually accepted a rematch with Thompson in the main event of UFC 209 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

“You see the sport with guys moving around weight divisions for these big money fights, so for you to not put your hat in the ring for some of those fights is crazy,” Woodley said. “But I knew at some point I’d have to fight (Thompson) to close up that chapter.”

Thompson began lobbying for the rematch shortly after the scores were read after a thrilling fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The flashy striker is thrilled to get another shot at the title.

“It seems like he’s more stressed than I am,” the 34-year-old South Carolina native said. “He was disappointed in the decision. He was talking about fighting other people, but if I was the champion, I couldn’t let that go. I couldn’t move on from that with a draw. I wouldn’t feel like I was champion. When you tie, you always run it back. I had to poke at him a bit on social media, but here we are.”

Woodley has heard enough talk about how the rematch came together.

“He needs to realize he’s blessed and lucky he’s getting this fight,” said the champion, 34, a former All-America wrestler at Missouri. “A different scorecard or different judges, he would have lost and needed to work two or three more fights just to get back up here. I think he needs to realize it’s a great opportunity for him, and he needs to focus more on trying to defeat me and less on why we’re fighting.”

Thompson wants to be more aggressive in the rematch.

He still can’t explain why he was hesitant in the first meeting, but knows he can’t afford to hold anything back.

Woodley insists his power and ability to dictate range and pace are what kept Thompson off balance, and he doesn’t expect that to change. Obviously, Thompson’s camp disagrees.

“Tyron likes to take credit for things he didn’t do,” said Thompson’s father and coach, Ray Thompson. “Tyron didn’t stop Stephen from doing anything. Stephen stopped himself, and it was just some bad decision making on our part prior to the fight. Tyron had very little to do with Stephen not doing what Stephen can do.”

Woodley was close to finishing the first fight on several occasions. He thinks the only difference in the rematch will be that he won’t miss his chance.

“I do think he’s going to be a little more aggressive and showcase more of his striking abilities,” Woodley said. “But I don’t think he can pull any rabbits out of a hat.”

The bout headlines a pay-per-view main card that airs at 7 p.m. and includes an interim lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.