Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, at 39 years old, feels ancient in MMA years. His emphatic stoppage win over Kevin Holland this past weekend, however, cemented the UFC welterweight’s place among the elite of the division. Thompson, appearing on The MMA Hour, revealed that he knew he had to “prove to everybody” that he remains a force to be reckoned with.
“I didn’t feel any pressure at all. I try to keep that kind of mindset out before going into a fight. I don’t like feeling like I have to do anything. Yes, I lost my last two fights, against good wrestlers, but I didn’t take any damage so it’s not like I got beat up beat up. It was more, I went out there to prove to myself and the fans that Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson’s still here.
Wonderboy: “I’m Still Here Baby!”
He’s not too old for this game. Everybody else is telling me that I’m too old. You see it out there because I lost my last two fights. ‘He must be too old.’ So I’m like, are you kidding me? I feel like I’m 25. I’m ready to go.
I think that’s one of the reasons why I was more aggressive this fight than I ever was before. I think it was the fact that people thought I was too old and I wanted to prove to everybody that I’m still in this game and that you ain’t got the last of Stephen Thompson. I’m still here, baby.”
Thompson continued, citing the matchup against Kevin Holland – a fellow striker – as a perfect way to prove himself, especially considering how both fighters had traditionally fared against grapplers.
“The last time somebody told me I was too old, it was after I got knocked out by Anthony Pettis. Of course I came back and beat Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal, but it kind of upset me because I don’t feel it. I feel like I’m still in the game. I feel like I can still put on a good show for the fans and the UFC, and this is something I told them. ‘Look, give me a striker, we’ll put on the best fight ever,’ and we always do.
Anytime I fight against a good striker, we get Fight of the Night.
Obviously, there’s a lot of things I’ve got to work on with my wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I’m still getting better with that every day, but it was the right moment. It was the perfect opponent. But the reason this fight was so good was my opponent, a tough [Kevin Holland], able to go four rounds, take the shots that he did and keep on standing, it was awesome.”
What did you make of Wonderboy’s performance over the weekend? Let us know in the comments.
