Stephen Thompson feels like he is better now, than he was five years ago.
Thompson recently lost to Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision at ‘Fight Night 199’. Muhammad had the same game-plan that other fighters have taken against ’Wonderboy’, and wrestled him for three straight rounds.
This was the second straight loss for Thompson, as he lost to Gilbert Burns earlier this year. In that fight Thompson was winning the fight when it was standing and he was even able to rock Burns. Unfortunately Burns decide to take the fight to the ground and held him down to win the fight, the same way Muhammad did.
Five years ago ‘Wonderboy’ was challenging Tyron Woodley for the welterweight championship and in his prime at 33. To say he is better than he was then is a bold statement to make. Thompson’s stand up is still one of the best in the division, but his all around game is still much to be desired at the moment. Thompson is not ready to hang up the gloves which is fine as he is still a hard puzzle to solve for strikers. Though, it is pretty obvious that he is not the fighter he was five years ago.
Stephen Thompson was talking on his YouTube channel about his future and what may be next
“I feel like people that do retire, when they sit down on the chair, they just feel like they should retire. Like just, their bodies 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 fine. I feel better than I was five years ago. I just don’t get it.” (Transcribed by SportsKeeda)
Thompson had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC back in the beginning of December and he has no plans of retiring in the near future. He has landed outside of the top five after his loss to Muhammad. The UFC should give Thompson a fight against another striker to give him a good chance to get back in the win column.
Who would you like to see Thompson fight in the future?