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Stephen Randall Thompson (born February 11, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist and model. Thompson currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former full-contact kickboxer and was undefeated through 37 amateur and 20 professional kickboxing matches. Thompson is regarded as one of the most accomplished strikers in the UFC, as well as one of most respectful fighters in the sport.
As of December 20, 2021, he is #7 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Early life
Thompson was born on February 11, 1983, in Simpsonville, South Carolina. He has two sisters and two brothers. Thompson started training at the age of three, under the guidance of his father, Ray Thompson, a former professional kickboxer and owner of Upstate Karate, a karate school in Simpsonville, South Carolina.
Thompson started competing in kickboxing and karate at the age of 15. He holds black belt ranks in Tetsushin-ryū Kempo, American Kickboxing and Jujutsu. He studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Machado who is also his brother-in-law. Thompson graduated from high school in 2001 and is the Head Instructor of the children's karate program at Upstate Karate.
Martial arts career
Early career
Thompson's father, Ray, is his trainer and manager.
In 2006, Thompson was the #1 ranked fighter in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League.
Thompson has also been featured in Martial Arts Digest magazine, Fighter magazine, and MMA Authority magazine.
Thompson has performed along with his father at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in the “Athletes Project”, and has appeared in several TV commercials.
Thompson fought Raymond Daniels in a highly anticipated bout. Thompson lost the bout by technical knockout due to a knee injury he suffered that left him unable to continue. However, this was later overturned into a no contest.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
2012
Thompson was expected to face Justin Edwards on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143, replacing an injured Mike Stumpf. However, Edwards was forced out with an injury and replaced by Dan Stittgen. Thompson won the fight via KO in the first round after landing a flush head kick. For his performance, Thompson was awarded Knockout of the Night honors.
Thompson lost to Matt Brown on April 21, 2012, at UFC 145 via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–27, and 30–27).
Thompson was expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154. However, Thompson was forced out of the bout with a knee injury and replaced by Matthew Riddle.
2013
Thompson was expected to face Amir Sadollah on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160. However, Sadollah pulled out of the bout, citing an injury, and he was replaced by Nah-Shon Burrell. Thompson won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, and 29–28).
Thompson next faced Chris Clements on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165.[26] He won the fight via knockout in the second round.
2014
Thompson faced future UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170. Thompson won the bout via first-round technical knockout. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
Thompson faced Patrick Côté on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. Thompson won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27).
2015
Thompson was expected to headline against Brandon Thatch on February 14, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 60. However, Thompson pulled out of the fight on January 30, citing a rib injury, and was replaced by former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson.
Thompson faced Jake Ellenberger on July 12, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale. He won the fight via KO in the first round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
2016
Thompson was expected to face Neil Magny on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195. However, Magny was tabbed as an injury replacement for Matt Brown and instead faced Kelvin Gastelum on November 21, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. In turn, Thompson was removed from the card and rebooked to face former champion Johny Hendricks on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. He won the bout via TKO in the first round. The win also earned Thompson his third Performance of the Night bonus award.
Thompson next faced Rory MacDonald on June 18, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89. He won the fight via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, and 48–47).
Thompson fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 205, where he faced reigning champion Tyron Woodley. The fight ended in a majority draw with two judges scoring the fight 47–47 and the third 48–47 in favor of Woodley. However, there was some confusion as the result was initially announced as a split decision victory for Woodley only to be corrected moments later when the decision of a majority draw was announced, albeit with the same result of Woodley remaining champion. Subsequently, both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night bonus awards. UFC President Dana White stated that he expected that a rematch would be next for each fighter.
2017
The rematch with Woodley took place on March 4, 2017, in the main event at UFC 209. Thompson lost the bout by majority decision (48–47, 47–47, and 48–47). In a sample of 19 media pundits scoring the fight, five scored it in favor of Woodley, six scored in favor of Thompson, and eight scored it a draw.
Thompson faced Jorge Masvidal on November 4, 2017 at UFC 217.[47] He won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, and 30–27).
2018
As the first bout of his new multi-fight contract, Thompson faced Darren Till on May 27, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130. At the weigh-ins, Till weighed in at 174.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit of 171. After negotiating with Thompson's team, the bout proceeded at a catchweight, with the stipulation that Till could not weigh more than 188 pounds on the day of the fight. Till also forfeited 30 percent of his purse to Thompson. Thompson lost the bout via unanimous decision (48–47, 49–46, and 49–46). Conversely, 22 of 25 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Thompson.
2019
Thompson faced former UFC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in the headliner of UFC on ESPN+ 6 on March 23, 2019. Despite outstriking Pettis for most of the bout, he lost the fight via knockout in the second round, marking the first time that Thompson had been stopped in MMA or kickboxing competition.
Thompson faced Vicente Luque on November 2, 2019 at UFC 244. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.
2020
Thompson faced Geoff Neal on December 19, 2020 in the headliner UFC Fight Night 183. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
2021
Thompson faced Gilbert Burns on July 10, 2021 at UFC 264 He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
As the first bout of his new six-fight contract, Thompson faced Belal Muhammad on December 18, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus. He lost via unanimous decision after being dominated on the ground.
Fighting Style
Thompson is well known for his American Kenpo style of karate which he has trained in from an early age. This karate background is evident in the stance he adopts, as his feet stand far apart and he sits wide with his hands low. This style is very uncommon in MMA, with most fighters having a background in wrestling or jiu-jitsu, or striking arts like boxing, muay thai, or other styles of kickboxing. His wide, karate stance allows him to cover distance, and launch kicks rapidly, which he is known for doing. Analysts and fighters have praised 'Wonderboy' for his ability to keep other fighters in his range whilst staying out of theirs. The risk of being knocked out compels most fighters to keep their hands up in 'guard', but Thompson, among others such as Jiří Procházka, keeps their hands very low. The benefits of a very low guard are that your punches and elbows become very hard to predict, and you are better prepared to defend against takedowns. Thompson is more suited to keeping his hands low than other fighters who adopt more orthodox MMA stances, as he can negate the risk of being hit with a clean shot to the head through his footwork and rapid movement. His footwork is simply described as "hopping back and forth", like other practitioners do such as Conor McGregor and Zhang Weili. The benefit of this "hopping" while in neutral is that, like the low or non-existent guard, that your striking and movement becomes unpredictable.
Personal life
Thompson's sister is married to Carlos Machado and Thompson's brother, Tony, is married to Chris Weidman's sister.
In 2017, he signed a contract with international modeling agency IMG Models.
