Oftentimes when a person repeatedly uses the phrase, “It is what it is,” they’re holding something back.
Such could be the case for Stephen Thompson following his narrow decision loss to Darren Till in the UFC Fight Night 130 headliner in Liverpool, England on Sunday. After five closely-contested frames, many observers – including 22 of the 24 media members tracked by MMADecisions.com – felt that “Wonderboy” deserved the nod. The cageside judges, however, felt differently, as Thompson fell to 1-2-1 in his last four Octagon appearances.
“I thought I edged it out, but he’s definitely a big boy,” Thompson said on Fox Sports 1. “You could feel his weight out there a little bit. But you know what, it is what it is.”
Thompson makes reference to Till’s weight, as the English fighter came in 3.5 pounds over the welterweight limit on Saturday. Till was required to weigh less than 188 pounds on Sunday in order to be allowed to compete, and he checked in at 187.3 pounds to make the fight official.
While Thompson admitted the size was a factor, he avoided outright saying that Till’s missing weight was a significant benefit.
“You know what? It is what it is,” Thompson said. “I’m going to go back and definitely learn from this. But hat’s off to Darren.
“Usually guys whenever I blitz forward they back up. I could use my weight a little bit, but it’s like running into a brick wall. Every time I would run in he was right there in front of me. But no excuses, we’ll go back to the drawing board and be better next time.”
Virtually all the rounds were extremely close, although Till did punctuate his win with a knockdown in the final stanza. “The Gorilla” focused on low kicks as a major part of his offense, attacking Thompson’s surgically repaired leg on multiple occasions. Before he plots his next move, Thompson will need to have a clean bill of health.
“It kept me from moving around like I wanted to, but no excuses,” Thompson said. “I want to get my left leg checked out, and then see where we go from there.”