Conor McGregor has issued a challenge to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and said he wants to claim his ‘NMF’ title in 2020.
Thompson appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show on ESPN last night where Helwani presented him with the newly-created NMF title.
‘Wonderboy’ was a guest on the show when Helwani revealed he had a surprise for the welterweight.
As the show headed to a close, Helwani pulled the belt from under his desk saying: “I have something very exciting for you here.”
“On behalf of your management team I would like to present to you the ‘Nicest Mofo’ belt”
“This was custom made for you, the ‘NMF’ title”
“Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, the inaugural Nicest Mofo Champion”
“You are literally the nicest person in the world, you deserve it”
Watch Helwani present Thompson with the title below:
When you’re the Nicest MFer in the game, there’s only one way to commemorate it. @arielhelwani presented @WonderboyMMA with the NMF belt 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Qjfk9WzukX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 16, 2019
Big Challenger
ESPN posted the footage on Twitter, and it didn’t take long for one of the biggest names in the UFC to respond.
Former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor ‘Notoroius’ McGregor responded within the hour to call out Thompson for an NMF title fight.
He joked on Twitter: “That belt is mine in 2020 motherbuddies!”
That belt is mine in 2020 motherbuddies!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 16, 2019
Respect
Thompson soon fired back by posting a heartfelt message on Instagram. The 36-year-old showed respect for McGregor and seemed up for a showdown with the Irishman.
He wrote: “It was AWESOME receiving the #nmf belt from @arielhelwani and @paradigmsm today!!” he said. “And @thenotoriousmma it would be HONOR to go toe to toe with the best in the bizz for the NMF belt good sir…or should I say… MOTHERBUDDY!!”
Back on Track
McGregor has experienced a tumultuous past couple of years and will face off against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on January 18 2020 as he tries to get his career back on track.
Notorious hasn’t exactly been known for his ‘niceness’ in or out of the Octagon, could his desire to become the ‘Nicest Mofo’ in UFC be a sign of a new persona?
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Conor McGregor and Stephen Thompson)