NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Stephen Thompson is trying not to look past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 6 headliner with Anthony Pettis, but it’s difficult to ignore what’s on the horizon.

The UFC heads to South Carolina on June 22 to stage an event in Greenville, where Thompson (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) resides. Having “Wonderboy” headline the card seems like a natural fit, and he has every intention of taking that spot as long as he’s physically capable.

Thompson already has an opponent in mind, too. He’s long pursued a matchup with former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler (28-13 MMA, 13-7 UFC), and he hopes that fight can finally materialize.

“Lawler is definitely the fight I’ve been wanting for a while,” Thompson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at UFC on ESPN+ 6 media day. “I’ve been a big fan of him and he’s been such a monster in the welterweight division. I thought he looked great in his last fight with Ben (Askren). He looked really strong and just really focused. I think that year off gave him some time to heal up and get his mind right. I think that would be awesome.

“I know there’s a card happening in Greenville, S.C., my hometown, three months from now. Hopefully come out of this fight unscathed and we’ll make that fight happen.”

UFC on ESPN+ 6 takes place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Thompson vs. Pettis headlines the card, which streams on ESPN+.

Thompson said he was close to booking a January showdown with Lawler. However, “Ruthless” said prior to his UFC 235 bout with Ben Askren earlier this month that the matchup was never on the table. Thompson begs to differ, but all of that is in the past, and he hopes they can make it happen in the future.

“To us it was (happening),” Thompson said. “The word we were getting is it was happening. It wasn’t until the fight – I was up in New York with Chris Weidman during his fight (at UFC 230) is when I actually found out he was fighting Askren. Up until then it looked like we would fight him. I don’t know if that was UFC or his coaches, I don’t know what the whole plan was there, but for a little while there it looked like it was a for sure thing. But things happen.”

The matchup with Lawler, No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA welterweight rankings, has slipped through his fingers before, and No. 5-ranked Thompson said he hopes it doesn’t happen again. With Tyron Woodley no longer champion at 170 pounds, Thompson has renewed championship aspirations and thinks beating Pettis and Lawler in back-to-back fights would give him a strong case to challenge current titleholder Kamaru Usman.

“I think a big win over Pettis is going to put me back in the limelight,” Thompson said. “It’s been almost 10 months since I fought and out of sight out of mind. People stop talking about you, forget about you and I just want to let everyone know that I’m still here. But a win over Lawler – he’s a former welterweight champion. He’s one of the best strikers in the division and has been in the game for a while.

“It may not move me up (in the rankings), but it still shows everybody I’m here if I can do what I’m going to do Saturday and fight Lawler in my hometown and prove that, ‘Stephen is still here, let’s give him that shot again.'”

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