At one point, some started to wonder if Stephen Thompson still had it. But that quickly changed after his most recent performance.
Heading into his fight against Vicente Luque this past November at UFC 244, Thompson (15-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC) was coming off back-to-back losses and had been knocked out for the first time in his career by former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
His performance against Luque ended up being one of the finest of his career, proving he’s still very much a player in the welterweight division.
But Thompson admitted there was a little added pressure to perform.
“Deep down, I felt like it was (a must win),” Thompson told MMA Junkie. “Because you know, I’ve had those losses and I was just knocked out, and I took all summer off to just kind of find myself and really give myself time to heal up from that knockout. But yeah, deep down, I felt like I had to win this fight. But I try and keep my mind off of it.”
The two-time UFC welterweight title challenger thinks he still has a lot left in the tank.
“I had some controversial losses, and then I ended up getting knocked out by Anthony Pettis – which was a first for me,” Thompson said. “I’ve never been knocked out in my entire fight career, so people were talking on social media saying, ‘Does Stephen still have it? Has his chin been affected by that?’ I’m 37, and I’m not getting any younger. But I feel like I’m 23, 24 years old, to be honest with you.
“I wanted to show the fans and the UFC that you haven’t seen the last of Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson – that I’m just as good, or getting even better. I’m still improving every day, and of course when I go back and watch that fight against Vicente Luque, there’s always something that I could have done better. And that’s the kind of mindset I have in a fight, win or loss.”
At 37, Stephen Thompson says he's as good as he's ever been – if not better