Stephen
Thompson has been nothing if not dependable since he joined the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster more than a decade ago.
No one, not even the man himself, knows how much sand remains in
the hourglass.
“Wonderboy,” now 40, will look to improve upon his 12-6-1 record
inside the Octagon when he confronts
Michel
Pereira in a
UFC 291 welterweight feature on Saturday at the Delta Center in
Salt Lake City. Thompson has won three of his past five bouts. He
last appeared at UFC on ESPN 42, where he snapped a two-fight
losing streak with a fourth-round technical knockout of
Kevin
Holland on Dec. 3. It was his first finish since 2016.
As Thompson makes final preparations for his looming battle with
Pereira at 170 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have
helped define his career to this point:
1. Bitter Taste
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 quarterfinalist
Matt Brown
grounded and neutralized the previously unbeaten Thompson on his
way to a unanimous decision in their UFC 145 welterweight prelim on
April 21, 2012 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Scores were 30-27,
29-27 and 30-27. Thompson had flashes of brilliance, but they were
too few and far between. Brown executed takedowns in all three
rounds and opened multiple cuts on the South Carolina native’s face
with short elbows from the top. In the third round, he swept
Thompson’s legs, sliced through his guard and ultimately moved to
the mounted crucifix position. Brown then transitioned to a topside
triangle and battered his counterpart with punches. Thompson
survived to force a decision, but his face bore the marks of a
clear defeat, his first as a professional.
2. Marquee Attraction
Thompson once again showed his flair for the dramatic when he wiped
out
Jake
Ellenberger with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches in
“The Ultimate Fighter 21” Finale headliner on July 12, 2015 at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Ellenberger met his end 4:29
into Round 1, buried by a dizzying array of offensive excellence.
Thompson was forced to deal with some adversity along the way. The
notoriously heavy-handed Ellenberger dropped the karateka to his
knees with a ringing right to the side of the head, but “Wonderboy”
kept his composure, lured the Nebraskan into the clinch and
separated on his own terms. He knocked down Ellenberger with a hook
kick and remained patient as he pursued the finish with punches.
Thompson allowed “The Juggernaut” to stand, settled at his
preferred range and launched a spinning wheel kick that floored the
still-dazed Ellenberger. He then pounced with a left and a right,
prompting the stoppage.
3. Short of the Mark
Less than four months after they fought to a draw in their first
encounter,
Tyron
Woodley retained his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship
welterweight title with a majority decision over Thompson in the
UFC 209 main event on March 4, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Judges Derek Cleary and
Chris Lee
struck 48-47 scorecards for Woodley, while Sal D’Amato scored it a
47-47 draw. The five-round rematch was marked by extended periods
of frustrating inactivity, with champion and contender circling one
another to a chorus of boos from those in attendance. Woodley was
responsible for the two most significant bursts of offense in the
fight. He executed a takedown in the second round, trapped
Thompson’s arm behind his back and went to work with his
ground-and-pound; and late in Round 5, Woodley sent an off-balance
“Wonderboy” careening into the cage with a straight right and then
met him with an overhand right that had him back on the canvas with
referee John McCarthy hovering above. Thompson controlled the
spaces in between—he staggered Woodley with a left hook in the
third round and connected with a wheel kick in the fourth—with
tactical strikes but failed to make enough of an impact to
necessitate a changing of the guard at 170 pounds.
4. Tactical Master Class
Thompson returned to form and once again put his willingness to get
down and dirty on display when he took a unanimous decision from
Vicente
Luque in a UFC 244 welterweight showcase on Nov. 2, 2019 at
Madison Square Garden in New York. The South Carolina-based
karateka darted in and out with punching combinations, countered
effectively and outmaneuvered the resilient Luque across three
entertaining rounds, drawing 30-26, 30-27 and 29-27 marks from the
cageside judiciary. Thompson overcame a slow start, floored “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 21 alum with a straight left in a dominant
third round and piled up points with a variety of kicks to the
head, body, legs and arms. By the time it was over, he had
outlanded Luque by a 138-77 margin in significant strikes.
5. Window Closes
Repeated takedowns, stifling control and hearty ground-and-pound
carried
Belal
Muhammad to the most significant win of his career, as the
onetime
Titan Fighting Championship titleholder laid claim to a
lopsided unanimous decision over Thompson in the UFC Fight Night
199 co-main event on Dec. 18, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
All three cageside judges scored it for Muhammad: 30-25, 30-26 and
30-26. Perhaps starting to look his age, Thompson was shockingly
ineffective. Muhammad secured multiple takedowns in all three
rounds, bled the “Wonderboy” gas tank try and had the South
Carolinian searching for answers. He found none. With two rounds
already in the bank, Muhammad kept his foot on the accelerator in
the third. There, he grounded Thompson again and transitioned
seamlessly from half guard and side control to the knee-on-belly
position, feeding him elbows all the while.