UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson will stop fighting when his body no longer allows him to.
Thompson, 39, has been competing in combat sports practically his entire life. An accomplished kickboxer, “Wonderboy’s” transition to MMA was a seamless one in which he instantly found success. He fell short twice in his pursuit for welterweight gold, but Thompson is still a top contender.
Thompson has lost his past two bouts to Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad, but he was mostly stifled and out-grappled in those fights. The only time he’s ever been put out was in March 2019 when he was knocked out by Anthony Pettis.
“I think that’s No. 1, how my body is feeling,” Thompson told CBS Sports. “I don’t take a lot of punishment in the fight game. I’ve been knocked out one time in my entire career, my entire fight career with kickboxing and MMA combined. I remember after that, people were already saying, ‘You need to retire.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ If I’m getting knocked out consistently then we’ll think about it. Taking punishment is a big thing, and I don’t take a lot of punishment. But also how my body is feeling and how my recovery is.”
Thompson (16-6-1 MMA, 11-6-1 UFC) returns to action in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 42 headliner when he meets Kevin Holland at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
Looking to snap a two-fight losing skid, his fight against Holland (23-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) could be viewed as a must-win. But for Thompson, there’s only one man that can influence his decision on how long he keeps competing.
“As long as I’m feeling healthy and not taking too much punishment, I’m going to continue to do what I do,” Thompson said. “And I listen to my coach. My dad has been a part of my camp since Day 1, and he probably knows me more than I know myself and me being a fighter. I wanna keep fighting, and we’ll ignore sometimes the fact that maybe we shouldn’t. So, when he says I’m done, I’m done.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 42.
