‘Wonderboy’ was in good spirits getting stitched up after UFC Orlando.
Stephen Thompson needed some stitches following his ‘Fight of the Year’ contender with Kevin Holland at UFC Orlando this past Saturday.
Thompson won by fourth-round TKO after Holland and his corner waved off the fight because of a broken right hand. The ‘Trailblazer’ said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier that the damage was done early in the first round, where he nearly earned a finish over ‘Wonderboy’.
Though unable to get a finish, Holland was able to leave some reminders of his handiwork, as evidenced by the two gruesome cuts on Thompson’s face. The 39-year-old required stitches, and the entire procedure was filmed by his brother-in-law and former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.
Warning: Video below is graphic. Please proceed with caution.
*GRAPHIC CONTENT* @trailblaze2top might have hindered my modeling career but man that fight was every bit worth it! Thank you my friend! S/O @chrisweidman for asking for that IG worthy cut spread #UFCOrlando #DogFight #HowsMyFace pic.twitter.com/tmVYaOXaQb
— Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) December 5, 2022
“[Kevin Holland] might have hindered my modeling career, but man that fight was every bit worth it!,” wrote Thompson on social media. “Thank you my friend! Shoutout to [Chris Weidman] for asking for that IG worthy cut spread.”
Who knew Weidman was a gorehound!? That cut spread was everything.
As for other injuries, Thompson revealed on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that he has a broken left hand.
“It’s broken,” said Thompson. “I get an MRI tomorrow. We both — Kevin broke his right hand and I broke my left hand in the fight.
“People are telling me they thought I broke it in the first or second round because I hit him with a left hand and I shake my left hand out,” continued Thompson. “But I didn’t feel it until after I took the gloves off, to be honest with you. As soon as I took the gloves off, I was like, ‘Okay, something’s not right. I’ve felt this pain before.’ I looked down at my hand and it started to swell immediately, so I was like, ‘It’s got to be broken.’”
With this win, Thompson returns to the win column after losing two straight to Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.