Wonderboy wants side kick to the knee to be illegal
Stephen Thompson: “When I was in the cage fighting Till it felt like ok this guy is trying to break my leg. It was like he had intentions of ripping everything out in my knee.”
Darren Till defeated Stephen Thompson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 130, on May 27, in Liverpool England. ‘Wonderboy’ spoke recently with Chris Taylor for BJPenn.com, and explained that a side kick to the knee in Round 2 tore his MCL. It will be eight weeks before he can resume training, although no surgery is necessary.
There was one thing that really slowed me down during the fight and that was the side kick to the knee,” said Thompson. “It caught me just right in the center of the knee. … I heard some cracking and popping and it slowed me down tremendously, so it was hard for me to move around the way I wanted to. I was also worried that if he hit it again the fight would be over. Not just that but also my career. It would have been devastating to tear my ACL for a second time.”
I honestly think that strike should be made illegal. It could end somebody’s career. You know Robert Whittaker had to have ACL surgery following his first fight with Yoel Romero due to that particular strike.”
“I think a lot of fighters throw that strike but sometimes it is for different reasons. When I fought Jorge Masvidal he used that same side kick to the knee. But when Jorge threw it, he was doing so just to keep me away, not in an attempt to injure my knee. But when I was in the cage fighting Till it felt like ok this guy is trying to break my leg. It was like he had intentions of ripping everything out in my knee. … I think it an ugly strike and that it should be made illegal.
While a direct kick into the knee is prohibited in some states, it is not a part of the Unified Rules of mixed martial arts.
