Former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson reveals his target date for his return to the Octagon.
Stephen Thompson wants to return to the Octagon in the best-shape possible and that means taking his time.
“Wonderboy” tells Bloody Elbow he is unable to headline UFC Greenville on June 22 and is instead hoping to return in the late summer.
“Possibly August. I’ll be able to have some contact with sparring at the end of June. I’m staying in shape, but I still want to keep this [point to brain] right,” he said. “Where I can get some good sparring in and a good training camp, possibly August I’m thinking.”
Thompson had never been knocked out in 58 professional kickboxing bouts and 18 MMA fights, but Anthony Pettis did just that at UFC Nashville. Thompson refuses to rush the healing process.
“Michael Bisping, in one of his last fights, he stepped out there too soon,” Thompson recalled of UFC Shanghai in Nov. 2017. “He had a brutal fight with Georges St-Pierre and then real quick jumped in against Kelvin Gastelum and just got put away. If you do that, if you step out there too soon… this is your livelihood.”
“If you want to do this for years to come, you have to take care of yourself. You can’t condition the brain,” Thompson asserted. “You can condition the body, but you can’t condition the brain. You have to take it slow.”
Thompson was hoping to close in on a third title shot with a victory over Pettis, but now he has work to do.
“Before this fight with Anthony Pettis, I was bumped back up to number three. A good win over Pettis would have shot me into title contention. Maybe one more fight after that,” he said. “I guess God has other plans. I’m not giving up on the title. I’m 36-years-old and I still have a ton of fight in me… It may take me a few more fights but the way the UFC and the welterweight division is changing, anything can happen. I’m staying positive and I’m working hard.”
The current number-seven ranked welterweight also touched how his face ended up on the headlines of TMZ. The tabloid entertainment outlet published a story about T.J. Dillashaw’s drug suspension, but mistakenly used a photo of Thompson.
“It was crazy. Of course all my friends send me this text with the ugliest picture of me you can find,” he laughed. “Come on TMZ, do your research. A quick Google search can help you with this. It was hilarious, it had me cracking up. Dana White actually sent me a text and he was just laughing.”
A number of key match-ups in the UFC welterweight division, including Ben Askren vs. Jorge Masvidal, will resolve by the time Thompson returns to the Octagon.