Stephen Thompson

Stephen Randall “Wonderboy” Thompson is an American mixed martial artist and kickboxer born on February 11th 1983. He fights in the welterweight division in the UFC. He is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished strikers in the UFC. He holds a black belt in Tetsushin Ryu Kempo, American Kickboxing and Ju-Jitsu.

Thompson started in Kempo Karate at 3 years old. His father was a professional fighter and trainer. At 14 Stephen Thompson started practicing Ju-Jitsu and American Kickboxing, and at 20 started practicing BJJ and MMA.

He is currently the head instructor of the children’s Karate program at Upstate Karate in Simpsonville, SC.

Stephen Thompson’s career before the UFC

Stephen Thompson made his MMA debut in 2010 and won his first three fights by finish (2 TKO, 1 submission).

He defeated two opponents by decision and with a record of 5-0 he got signed to the UFC.

Stephen Thompson in the UFC

Stephen Thompson made his UFC debut on February 4th 2012 at UFC 143 – Diaz vs. Condit. He faced injury replacement Dan Stittgen. Thompson won the fight by a beautiful head kick knockout in the first round. Thompson was awarded Knockout of the Night.

His next fight was against Matt “The Immortal” Brown. After hurting Brown with a body shot in the first round and tiring himself out, Brown came back and won a unanimous decision.

Thompson faced another injury replacement in Nah-Shon Burrell at UFC 160 – Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2 and won by unanimous decision. Four months later he knocked out Chris Clements to claim his third victory in the octagon.

He faced future interim middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker at UFC 170 – Rousey vs. McMann. Thompson defeated Whittaker by TKO in the first round which gave him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Canadian Patric Coté was the next opponent for “Wonderboy”. He defeated Coté by decision.

Stephen Thompson won 3 more fights against top competition like former champion Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. He finished Hendrick and Ellenberger in the first round.

Stephen Thompson vs. Tyron Woodley I & II

At UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor Stephen Thompson faced the reigning defending UFC weltwerweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley. The fight ended in a draw with not much happening over the 5 rounds. Bruce Buffer first announced Woodley as the winner, but after a recount the result was changed to a majority draw.

The rematch took place at UFC 209 – Woodley vs. Thompson 2. This fight was also pretty lackluster and Woodley won by majority decision.