Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo warn Joaquin Buckley on Stephen Thompson's threats before UFC 307
Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo recently warned Joaquin Buckley regarding his upcoming bout against Stephen Thompson at UFC 307, which takes place this Saturday. They noted that the former title challenger is still a very dangerous opponent despite his age.
'New Mansa' will have an excellent opportunity when he takes on 'Wonderboy' as an impressive win could result in him moving into the top-10 of the welterweight division. Buckley is currently the No.11 ranked UFC welterweight and comes into the bout riding a four-fight winning streak that includes wins over Vicente Luque and Nursulton Ruziboev.
During the latest episode of their Pound 4 Pound podcast, the former UFC champions weighed in on the welterweight clash and highlighted 'Wonderboy's skillset, especially with his striking. Usman mentioned that Thompson does an excellent job with his distance and precise striking:
"Even though 'Wonderboy' is 41, this man will still put hands on a lot of guys in that division. So it's who's willing to actually stand with him and trade hands? I don't think there's a lot of people willing to do that...'Wonderboy', man, cutting angles and putting combinations together ending with a kick to your face. Yeah, 'Wonderboy' is not the guy you let stand there and start spinning on you." [22:39 - 23:28]
Cejudo added:
"[Thompson is] so dangerous, man or he's annoying to fight. If you don't understand that distance game, if you don't understand a little bit of the moving out of the lateral movements, you won't catch him, dude." [23:44 - 23:56]
Check out the latest episode of Pound 4 Pound podcast below:
Kamaru Usman predicts Stephen Thompson will defeat Joaquin Buckley
In addition to detailing areas where Stephen Thompson can cause problems for Joaquin Buckley, Kamaru Usman predicted that the former welterweight title challenger will get his hand raised.
During the aforementioned episode, Usman mentioned that Thompson will compete with more urgency and have a career resurgence:
"I don't know what's next for 'Wonderboy' if he doesn't get a win here. So, I can see 'Wonderboy' going in and pulling this win out and maybe...a little bit of tread left in those tires to maybe ascend back to the top of the division." [25:37 - 25:54]
Check out Dana White announcing the UFC 307 fight card featuring Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley below: