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Thompson eyeing fights with Covington or Edwards next

Josh Hedges / UFC / Getty

Stephen Thompson is hoping to fight either Colby Covington or Leon Edwards next once scheduled bouts take place following the coronavirus.

“Colby Covington would be cool," Thompson told theScore. "I want to know what he has to say. He’s definitely not good at (trash-talking), I’ll probably end up laughing at it.”

“When you fight Colby Covington, you know what he’s going to do," Thompson continued. "He’s not going to fight me the same way he would fight Usman. He’s going to shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot. It may be a boring fight, but it may be a good fight, I think.”

Thompson (15-4-1) hasn't competed since November, when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Vicente Luque at UFC 244. The 37-year-old was sidelined following the win due to a hand injury, but he's ready to step back into the cage.

With Leon Edwards' bout against Tyron Woodley at UFC London scrapped a few weeks ago, Thompson is also open to squaring off with the UK fighter.

“Leon Edwards would be a good one," Thompson said. "He’s got great striking, man, and he’s becoming a better MMA fighter every time I watch him fight."

"At first, it was just the striking," Thompson added. "Now he’s implementing the wrestling. Like when he fought Vicente Luque, the guy I just fought, he was taking him down left and right. He did the same thing to (Rafael dos Anjos) too, was taking him down and controlling him on the ground."

"Like, man this guy’s putting in some work, man, his wrestling’s getting a lot better, which makes him a very difficult opponent to prepare for," he said.

Watch the full video interview with Thompson below and subscribe to theScoreMMA Youtube channel here.

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