UFC Fight Night: Stephen Thompson, Belal Muhammad looking to get back on title track in welterweight battle

Thompson and Muhammad enter Saturday night with very different motivations on their journeys to capture UFC gold

Stephen Thompson is ever the optimist on his journey of self-improvement. Belal Muhammad sources fuel from those who post GIFs of him being knocked out. Their redemption arcs intersect at the co-main event of UFC Fight Night, taking place inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Thompson came within a hair of winning the UFC welterweight title in back-to-back fights against former champion Tyron Woodley. A 29-28 unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Burns in July delayed his latest hunt for gold. Looking to rebuild his case as a top contender at welterweight, "Wonderboy" draws parallels between his comeback campaign and that of Dustin Poirier's, the latter of whom failed to capture the UFC lightweight title from Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.

"I've been where Dustin's at," Thompson said. "He's been on a streak, facing off against some tough guys and beating some of the best guys. Any one of those guys could be champ. That's the thing about it. It all comes down to that night and how you perform, where your mindset is at. I think he could beat Oliveira, for sure. Any given night. It just wasn't his night. And that's how I looked at it [against Woodley]. It just wasn't my night. So the only thing I can do is keep moving forward, keep training hard, keep beating guys that will put me in position and maybe next time I'll win that one."

Check out the full interview with Stephen Thompson below.

Muhammad is on his own road of redemption, one which leads through Thompson as a consequence of shared opponents Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.

"It's very motivating to me because I was on the New York card when 'Wonderboy' fought Woodley. That was my first knockout loss. That stuff that pushes me, that stuff that makes me want to go harder," Muhammad said. "To fight a guy like a 'Wonderboy' who just beat Luque a couple of fights ago, and he also beat Geoff Neal who has beaten me, it'll be a rewarding factor for me. Maybe I got those ones back. In the sense that I'm a different fighter now."

Thompson's (16-5-1) movement and counter-striking have shaped him into one of UFC's most elusive fighters -- and probably saved him a few brain cells. That elusiveness, however, means the judges are often involved in Thompson's fights. Eight of his last nine fights have gone to the scorecards, including a majority draw, a majority decision loss and two unanimous decision losses. Thompson admits his output needs an uptick.

"Being a little bit busier during the fight. Being a little bit more aggressive, not waiting on them to come to you," Thompson said. "The last time with Gilbert, I was so focused on the takedowns. I wasn't focused on what I should be doing. So I think that mindset switch has helped me a ton in this training camp leading up to this fight. I know he is a tough opponent and he's fairly good everywhere. Wherever the fight goes I'm going to be ready for it, but being a little bit more aggressive and keeping my opponent on his heels will play a big part in this fight."

Muhammad (19-3, 1 NC) follows up a victory over one of MMA's greatest jiu-jitsu practitioners, Demian Maia, with a matchup with welterweight's premier striker. Muhammad is confident his wealth of study material will materialize a win over Thompson.

Check out the full interview with Belal Muhammad below.

"It's been cool because I've been able to go through three camps watching former champions fight him. I was there with [Tyron] Woodley for his two camps when they fought for the title. I was also there with Anthony Pettis when he had his camp for fighting Thompson. I've had countless conversations with Gilbert Burns," Muhammad said. "I'm going to fight him the best anyone has ever fought him. It's going to be surprising to a lot of people. I'm a guy who reads the comments, I read the hate because it motivates me and I love it. There are a million people out there telling me I'm going to get knocked out or they can't wait to see me get knocked out. I can't wait to make them bite their words.

"He's a legend of the sport... He's the best striker in the division and the most elusive and the hardest match-up, where most people say 'no' to fighting a guy like this. I know this win will put me over the edge. This will be bigger than any of Leon [Edwards'] wins. This will put me ahead of him, honestly, in my book for the next title shot."

UFC Vegas 45 is headlined by a clash of top 10 heavyweights when Derrick Lewis meets Chris Daukaus.