Thompson ready to fight Kamaru Usman in the November UFC 295 showdown

The seventh ranked UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson was recently called out by former 170-pound titleholder Kamaru Usman and “Wonderboy” is prepared to book the fight, assuming “The Nigerian Nightmare” can be ready in time for the upcoming UFC 295 pay-per-view (PPV) card on November 11 in New York.

“Kamaru Usman has always been a guy that I just never had the opportunity to face off against,” Thompson told TMZ Sports. “For him to say he was willing to fight, and it makes sense at this point, is awesome. I’m all for it, to be honest with you. I am all for it.”

Thompson (17-6-1) is still trying to recoup some of his financial losses after passing on the too-heavy Michel Pereira ahead of the UFC 291 PPV last month in Las Vegas. As for Usman (20-3), four years younger than “Wonderboy” at 36, he’s been inactive since losing consecutive title fights to current welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

“To be able to have a shot at the No. 1 seed, are you kidding me? And a good athlete, a good person in Kamaru Usman, I’m all for it,” Thompson continued. “I love battling those types of guys. The guys with professionalism, those guys that are good people inside and outside of the Octagon. We’ve hung out a few times and we’ve always been very cordial, but that would be awesome. MSG or whenever he wants to do it. I’m looking at MSG right now.”