Masvidal-Thompson confirmed for UFC 217
The UFC confirmed Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal will square off against Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson in a welterweight bout at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden.
Earlier on Thursday, Masvidal insinuated on Twitter he'd be facing off against Thompson.
Masvidal didn't explicitly name Thompson as his opponent, but teased the matchup with the hashtag "wonderbread":
The violence you all have asked for is finally going down nov 4th .... #wonderbread #hoslapseason #makenycgreatagain
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) August 17, 2017
The 32-year-old Masvidal began a campaign for a date with his fellow contender soon after falling to Demian Maia in a title eliminator at UFC 211, with Thompson reciprocating the interest both on social media and at a recent Q&A alongside Masvidal.
The split decision Masvidal dropped to Maia snapped a three-fight win streak, while Thompson is coming off knee surgery and a pair of failed bids to dethrone incumbent champion Tyron Woodley. "Wonderboy" fought Woodley to a majority draw at MSG last November before getting the short end of a majority decision in their panned rematch at UFC 209.
Thompson and Masvidal sit in the first and fourth spots of the divisional rankings, respectively.
The UFC's second trip to the Garden already boasts a bantamweight title bout between reigning king Cody Garbrandt and former titleholder TJ Dillashaw, and is expected to feature a middleweight championship tilt between the defending Michael Bisping and a returning Georges St-Pierre.