Tag: Stephen Thompson

Joaquin Buckley Explains It Wasn’t Easy to Knock Out ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson

Joaquin Buckley Explains It Wasn't Easy to Knock Out 'Wonderboy' ThompsonKnocking out Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was no easy task for Joaquin Buckley. Just a couple of months ago, ‘New…

Joaquin Buckley Explains It Wasn't Easy to Knock Out 'Wonderboy' Thompson

Knocking out Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was no easy task for Joaquin Buckley.

Just a couple of months ago, ‘New Mansa’ scored the biggest win of his career, KOing Thompson in the third round of their entertaining scrap at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.

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“We had to get ‘Wonderboy’ out of there,” Buckley told The MMA Guru while looking back on his latest victory. “He’s an OG, right? With the ‘Wonderboy’ fight, everybody loves ‘Wonderboy’ and they were excited for him to come back. They thought he’d have an easy time with me, especially if we stayed standing. But this is mixed martial arts, so you take the fight wherever you need to. I switched it up, used my wrestling, backed him up against the cage, and we were able to transition and find the knockout.

“It’s not easy to knock out ‘Wonderboy.’ The last person to do it was Anthony Pettis, and he was getting whooped the whole fight before he came off the cage with some ‘Showtime’ stuff. But I feel like I systematically beat ‘Wonderboy’ to get that knockout, and that was the difference.”

Joaquin Buckley gunning for the 15th kO of his career at UFC Tampa

On Saturday night, Buckley returns to the Octagon to headline the promotion’s final event of 2024, UFC Tampa. There, he’ll look to land another highlight-reel finish against another fighter who has proven difficult to put away inside the distance — Colby Covington.

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Making his first appearance since a lackluster loss against Leon Edwards around this same time last year, Covington has only been stopped twice in his mixed martial arts career, both coming under the UFC banner. The last time was five years ago when ‘Chaos’ came up short against then-welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman in their inaugural title tilt.

Covington went the distance with Usman two years later but still came up short on the scorecards.

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Anthony Pettis Breaks Down How He Became The First Man To Knock Out Stephen Thompson: ‘Karate vs Taekwondo’

Anthony Pettis achieved a lot in his career and despite becoming a UFC champion, for many fans, what made him immortal was the iconic showtime kick that he produced in the WEC against Benson Henderson. Many years down the line in his career, towards the end of his UFC tenure, “Showtime” would produce another instant […]

Continue Reading Anthony Pettis Breaks Down How He Became The First Man To Knock Out Stephen Thompson: ‘Karate vs Taekwondo’ at MMA News.

Anthony Pettis achieved a lot in his career and despite becoming a UFC champion, for many fans, what made him immortal was the iconic showtime kick that he produced in the WEC against Benson Henderson.

Many years down the line in his career, towards the end of his UFC tenure, “Showtime” would produce another instant classic moment for his highlight reel that is sure to be shown in UFC compilations for many years to come.

In 2019, he went up to welterweight to face off with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in a fun match-up that looked to be a difficult fight for him to win. Thompson had a lot of success in the fight until, in the second round, he was knocked out for the first time in his MMA career.

Pettis stopped the elite kickboxer in stunning fashion, landing a superman punch right as the second round came to an end to flip the script on it’s head. In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on the MightyCast, he reflected on this fight.

Pettis said it was his call to fight Thompson and his confidence in the match-up came from the coaches that he has worked with throughout his career. His head coach, Duke Roufus and his brother Rick are both pioneering strikers who would be able to pass their own experiences competing at the highest level on to their fighter.

“Showtime” revealed how this clash of traditional striking styles and the knowledge he gained from his coaches led to him stopping “Wonderboy” in emphatic fashion.

“I’m like, I think I could beat him, karate vs taekwondo, I knew his range, I knew how to beat him because of Duke. That was one of those camps where I gave it all to Duke, like he knew how to beat him because of what happened to Rick Rufus. It was like the story was writing again, the karate guy, he’s like, ‘We have to, every time he kicks, low kick the same leg.’ I’m like, ‘For real? It’s that easy?’ It was that easy bro. Obviously I got punched in the face and s*** but once I started eating him up, when his stance goes from wide base to smaller cuz you’re beating those legs up, that’s when you can punch him but when he’s wide, he’s so far.”

Continue Reading Anthony Pettis Breaks Down How He Became The First Man To Knock Out Stephen Thompson: ‘Karate vs Taekwondo’ at MMA News.

Stephen Thompson Releases First Statement After Knockout Loss To Joaquin Buckley At UFC 307

Stephen Thompson and Joaquin Buckley fought in the UFC 307 prelims and after two competitive rounds, “Wonderboy” was knocked out in the third. This was just the second KO/TKO loss of his career. Interestingly, Buckley took out Thompson with a leaping overhand right preceded by a literal jump. Five years ago, Anthony Pettis launched himself […]

Continue Reading Stephen Thompson Releases First Statement After Knockout Loss To Joaquin Buckley At UFC 307 at MMA News.

Stephen Thompson and Joaquin Buckley fought in the UFC 307 prelims and after two competitive rounds, “Wonderboy” was knocked out in the third. This was just the second KO/TKO loss of his career.

Interestingly, Buckley took out Thompson with a leaping overhand right preceded by a literal jump. Five years ago, Anthony Pettis launched himself with the help of the cage and knocked out the Karate specialist with a similar bouncing superman punch.

The former UFC welterweight title challenger was doing great until he wasn’t, though. Here’s what he said after the crushing KO loss at UFC 307…

Stephen Thompson Looks Back At First KO Loss To Anthony Pettis As Joaquin Buckley Used A Similar Technique At UFC 307

“Wonderboy” took to Twitter recently to discuss his second UFC loss in a row. He admitted to not remembering how he got to the hotel and was humble in defeat as usual.

The veteran simply wanted to thank the fans for their continued support. Salt Lake City is known for its energetic crowd which, contrary to many other venues, shows up even before the main card begins. UFC 307 was no different, and Thompson seemed delighted with the fans cheering during his walkout.

The American fighter also pointed out that both KO losses in his career resulted from overhand rights. While Pettis used the Octagon to gain momentum, Buckley backed up “Wonderboy” against the cage to land the knockout punch.

“Just got back to the hotel, although we don’t know how I got here. But again, I get knocked out by an overhand. Once by Pettis, either on the cage or off the cage. Either way, it is what it is. I want to say thank you to all of my fans. You guys really showed out for me as I walked out there. You guys have shown me so much support over the years and I really do appreciate it.”

Based on the scorecards revealed later, it seems like the third round would’ve decided the outcome of the fight. Derek Cleary had it 19-19 going into the third while Sal D’Amato and Stephen Faragher had it 20-18 for Buckley and Thompson, respectively.

Continue Reading Stephen Thompson Releases First Statement After Knockout Loss To Joaquin Buckley At UFC 307 at MMA News.

VIDEO: Joaquin Buckley Knocks Out Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson With Late Leaping Hook At UFC 307

Joaquin Buckley earned his biggest win to date at UFC 307 as he stopped Stephen Thompson in dramatic fashion in the third round. “New Mansa” extended his winning streak in the welterweight division to five after becoming the second man to finish “Wonderboy” with strikes in the UFC. After many in the community had Buckley […]

Continue Reading VIDEO: Joaquin Buckley Knocks Out Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson With Late Leaping Hook At UFC 307 at MMA News.

Joaquin Buckley earned his biggest win to date at UFC 307 as he stopped Stephen Thompson in dramatic fashion in the third round.

“New Mansa” extended his winning streak in the welterweight division to five after becoming the second man to finish “Wonderboy” with strikes in the UFC.

After many in the community had Buckley down two rounds following a vintage performance from Thompson — only one judge agreed, with the others having it 19-19 and 20-18 Buckley entering the final frame — the 30-year-old threw everything he had into a big leaping right hand that landed clean against the fence, ending the fight instantly.

In his post-fight interview, Buckley called to face former champion Kamaru Usman, who has been out of action since his late-notice fight with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 last October.

Buckley Stops Thompson In Display Of Explosive Power At UFC 307

Buckley was able to turn the tide of the fight with one big shot. Now, he will likely compete in a big matchup toward the top of the ladder next time out amid his win streak at 170 pounds.

Check out the highlight reel finish below, as Buckley teed up the main card in Salt Lake City perfectly.

Continue Reading VIDEO: Joaquin Buckley Knocks Out Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson With Late Leaping Hook At UFC 307 at MMA News.

B/R Exclusive: Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Talks UFC 307 and Fighting Father Time

Stephen Thompson is one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC welterweight division, with 20 appearances to his credit, including two close misses for…

Stephen Thompson is one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC welterweight division, with 20 appearances to his credit, including two close misses for…

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Gives His Verdict On Dricus Du Plessis’ Striking: ‘No Real Good Technique…’

The unorthodox style of Dricus Du Plessis has prompted a lot of discussion during his rise up the middleweight ladder. He was criticized for being far too sloppy from a technique standpoint, but despite that, continued to rack up wins en route to becoming UFC champion. Du Plessis recently commented on this himself, by responding […]

Continue Reading Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Gives His Verdict On Dricus Du Plessis’ Striking: ‘No Real Good Technique…’ at MMA News.

The unorthodox style of Dricus Du Plessis has prompted a lot of discussion during his rise up the middleweight ladder.

He was criticized for being far too sloppy from a technique standpoint, but despite that, continued to rack up wins en route to becoming UFC champion.

Du Plessis recently commented on this himself, by responding to a breakdown of some of the striking techniques that he uses.

“Stillknocks” made fun of the analysis, claiming that he doesn’t think about or plan any of the things that the video suggested but just does what comes to mind in the moment – which has proven to be very effective for him.

“Wonderboy” Explains Why Du Plessis Is Effective On Auto-Pilot Despite Questionable Technique

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, one of the greatest strikers in UFC history, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, gave his thoughts on Du Plessis’ style.

As an elite kickboxer, the former welterweight title challenger was able to explain why it’s difficult for even someone as skilled and experienced as him, to fight an unpredictable opponent.

He believes that Du Plessis’ lack of finesse or “good technique” is what makes him a difficult opponent to strike with because he’s hard to read.

Thompson says that the middleweight champion’s mindset when it comes to making adjustments in the fight is a part of that, because he’s fighting on instinct for the most part.

“It’s so weird, I can see how people would have a lot of difficulty fighting him because he does a lot of pulling techniques, he does spinning techniques and it’s like with no real good technique and I understand where he’s coming from when people are like breaking down his fights. He’s out there not thinking about it but it’s all in the training how he’s developing all of this, even though he’s not thinking about it, what he’s doing is working because it’s years of preparation, doing all the sparring and things like that. So you’re not thinking about it but at the same time, your body is doing it without you even knowing it.”

Read also: Dricus Du Plessis Mocks Brendan Allen After UFC Paris Loss: ‘You Suck, Loser’

Continue Reading Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Gives His Verdict On Dricus Du Plessis’ Striking: ‘No Real Good Technique…’ at MMA News.