‘Wonderboy’ Not Thinking About Retirement

After suffering a one-sided loss at the hands of Belal Muhammad UFC Vegas 45 a few weeks ago in Las Vegas, Nevada, Stephen Thompson has had some time to himself to reflect on his second straight defeat.

But the 38 year-old precision striker isn’t contemplating retiring from combat sports. Not even a little bit. That’s because despite his recent setbacks, the karate expert feels better than ever, physically and mentally.

“I can’t believe people are saying that I’m old and I should retire,” Thompson said on his YouTube channel. (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “I feel like people that do retire, when they sit down on the chair, they just feel like they should retire.

“Like just, their body’s beat up, aches and pains. … When I sit here and I’m sitting down in this chair, I feel great. I feel fine. I feel better than I was five years ago. I just don’t get it,” he concluded.

It’s been a rough couple of years for the former two-time 170-pound title contender, losing two straight in 2021, going just 2-4 over his last six fights in the last three years. Still, that won’t be enough to get him to cash in on his 401K early.

Despite his setbacks, “Wonderboy” is still ranked in the Top 10 and a few impressive wins could get him back into the Top 5 and into the championship picture. As for his immediate future, there are plenty of options in the 170-pound division for his next outing.

Care to offer up an option or three?