What’s Next For ‘Wonderboy?’

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC Fight Night 148 blew the roof off Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., this past weekend (Sat., March 23, 2019). Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Justin W…

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC Fight Night 148 blew the roof off Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., this past weekend (Sat., March 23, 2019). Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Justin Willis, who suffered the first loss of his UFC career after getting absolutely dominated by Curtis Blaydes (recap here). And Deiveson Figueiredo, who coughed up his undefeated record after getting out-gunned by Jussier Formiga.

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Stephen Thompson.

Going into his headlining fight against Anthony Pettis, “Wonderboy” didn’t underestimate his opponent, even though “Showtime” was coming in as a rookie in the Welterweight division. Thompson obviously had the length and height advantage, but Pettis was adamant he wasn’t going to be a weak adversary. For Thompson, losing back-to-back fights simply wasn’t an option, as the 170-pound division is shark tank filled with eager and capable contenders champing at the bit for a shot at the title.

Unfortunately for Thompson, he ran into a man on a mission determined to fulfill his prophecy of shocking the combat sports world with something spectacular. Early on, Thompson stuck to his range-fighting gameplan, though Pettis was trying to make it hard for him by pushing the pace. Still, Thompson’s shots were connecting, busting up Pettis’ face and forcing the blood to trickle down. In round two, it was more of the same exchanges. But after Thompson connected with a kick to the gut, Pettis used the momentum from the cage ever-so slightly to dive in and surprise “Wonderboy” with a spectacular Superman punch that put his lights out.

It wasn’t anything Thompson did wrong, it was simply a perfectly-placed strike courtesy of one of the most creative stand up fighters in the game.

With two straight losses on his resume, Thompson will be knocked down a few pegs in a highly-competitive weight class that now has the additions of Pettis, Ben Askren, the resurgence of Jorge Masvidal and a new champion in Kamaru Usman. Not to mention, you still have Colby Covington, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Leon Edwards and Robbie Lawler in the mix.

And did we mention Kevin Lee is now at 170 pounds?

That means Thompson’s road back to a title will be a whole lot tougher. That said, “Wonderboy” has proven time and again he has the chops to reel off one impressive win after another, so don’t go writing him off as a legit threat to the title just yet, as he still has the skills to knock anyone’s block off.

A showdown against the aforementioned Lawler seems appropriate. Dana White is adamant he is going to book a rematch between Robbie and Ben, but “Funky” is determined not to sign on the dotted line. Thompson has long desired a fight against “Ruthless,” and now is a good a time as any.

If the do-over between Askren and Lawler does happen, and soon, then perhaps “Wonderboy” can wait for the loser of that match up.

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