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| Name: |  Stephen Thompson |
| Nickname: | Wonderboy |
| Age: | 28 |
| Height: | 6'0" |
| Location: |
Simpsonville, South Carolina |
Imagine eavesdropping on a conversation between two fans. A hardcore fan tells his buddy about an up-and-coming prospect in South Carolina who racked up an incredible 53-0-0-1 record in kickboxing. He won nearly every single amateur kickboxing title on the planet, and now he's making his way into the sport of mixed martial arts. You palm a smirk.
"His takedown defense is probably terrible, and he'll get owned on the ground with no experience in the grappling department. He'll fail," says Steve, your casual fan friend whose favorite fighter is Kimbo Slice. Steve wouldn't be off base with his comments however. It's difficult for anyone to believe a world-class kickboxer can succeed without some sort of background in the grappling arts.
Luckily, 28-year-old Stephen Thompson (5-0) is well-versed on the ground, practicing Tetsushin Ryu Jiu-Jitsu under his brother-in-law, none other than legendary grappler Carlos Machado. If that weren't enough, his thirty-two knockouts on the amateur kickboxing circuit and #1 ranking during his days in the World Combat League suggest he was a prodigy talent in the striking arts at a young age. Add twenty-four years of experience and a bevy of world-class training partners such as Georges St. Pierre and Rashad Evans to the mix, and you've got a fighter with loads of potential.
There is some mystery surrounding Thompson's progression, mainly due to the lack of footage of MMA action, but from secondary accounts I've been able to gather - there is a buzz surrounding Thompson. Most fans who've seen him in action agree that he has the goods to make an eventual run at a top-tier promotion, and they've even likened his style to that of Lyoto Machida.
Thompson's credentials are awe-inspiring, and the fanatical fan deep inside of us wants to proclaim him the next prodigy. But we're realists, and Thompson has a lot to prove moving forward. Specifically, his strength of competition isn't great, nor is he fighting enough to warrant an immediate move to the UFC or Bellator. The next step is the tougher competition that awaits him in a larger regional promotion. If he can past the test there with flying colors, Thompson will get the attention he deserves and make waves by the end of the year.
Check out video footage of Stephen Thompson after the jump...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - Rony Mariano #2 - Aljamain Sterling #3 - Chris Holdsworth #4 - Josh Hill #5 - Fabiano Fernandes #6 - Claudio Ledesma #7 - Sirwan Kakai #8 - Kyoji Horiguchi #9 - Leandro Hygo #10 - Pedro Munhoz |
#1 - Hacran Dias #2 - Joey Gambino #3 - Brandon Bender #4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers #6 - Anthony Gutierrez #7 - Max Holloway #8 - John Teixeira #9 - Cody Bollinger #10 - Bubba Jenkins |
#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro #2 - Alessandro Ferreira #3 - Adriano Martins #4 - Justin Salas #5 - Neilson Gomes #6 - Eduard Folayang #7 - Zorobabel Moreira #8 - Anton Kuivanen #9 - Jordan Rinaldi #10 - J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - Stephen Thompson |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
Stephen Thompson Promo
Stephen Thompson vs. James DeCore
World Combat League
Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (USA) vs. Sergej Bogdan (RUS)
2005 WAKO Gold Medal Match
Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson vs Tim Williams
1 recs | 20 comments
I remember first hearing of this guy about a year ago and thinking its too bad these amazing strikers don’t often round out there game. When I read shortly after he’s an accomplished grappler and gets world class training I got very excited to see him progress, but he hasn’t done much since then. Hopefully he’s been drilling takedown defense since then.
Tag01 - January 4, 2012 via mobile
Wonderboy!
If he got his nickname from this game series, I’m definitely a fan.
Horselover Fat - January 4, 2012
I'd wager it's Tenacious D
He may not be quite old enough to have played the game.
Charles Awad - January 4, 2012
Well, he’s a year older than me, and I certainly played them. But of course it could be derived from something else, or from nothing in particular. I’ll remain hopeful.
Horselover Fat - January 4, 2012
My source of reference is my own age (just turned 30)
..and how I barely remember playing them as a child. I’d still bet on the D.
Charles Awad - January 4, 2012
Clearly you’re not as big of a gamer as I am.
Horselover Fat - January 4, 2012
Pump your brakes, playboy
I have permanent game collections on all of my systems, was once ranked as high as #3 in Quake 3, and am a tournament level fighting game player (going to Evo this July to compete in SC V). I can also confidently say that I own an Odyssey and you don’t. I don’t, however, own a Master System (but I have a 32x and a Sega CD!).
Charles Awad - January 4, 2012
But do you have an Atari Video Pinball System? (The thing before the 2600)
smoogy2 - January 4, 2012
Nah man
Do you??
Charles Awad - January 4, 2012
Yes. It has a gloriously crappy Breakout clone among it’s half dozen or so built in variations on pinball. Pretty cool system if you’re a collector (I’m not)
smoogy2 - January 4, 2012
Sounds like you're selling it
I’m not necessarily a collector, but of the games I’ve purchased throughout my life (of which there are MANY), I’ve periodically kept the ones I enjoyed. Those has resulted in sizable permanent collections on those many systems.. As though I’ll ever return to playing any of them again. Ha
Charles Awad - January 5, 2012
Damn. Okay, maybe you have me beat. This time…
Horselover Fat - January 4, 2012
Just checking
Eight and oh Bellator traingle machine (and one of my training partners) David Rickels made his way onto the WW list somewhere, right?
WheelieMonkey - January 4, 2012
I believe we left him off because he had 3 fights under Bellator and has won all three, thus I expect him to get a long-term contract, if he doesn’t have one already.
Leland Roling - January 4, 2012
That sounds even more awesome, too pro to be a prospect, haha. He’s gettin’ ready for the next tourney in March, so I’d wager he does.
WheelieMonkey - January 4, 2012
Well, the cutoff is being signed to a major promotion, so “too pro to be a prospect”, I suppose is the right phrase.
Leland Roling - January 4, 2012
With credentials like his, I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of this guy before. With access to video of his fights, do you think he would have been ranked higher?
Baby Wads - January 4, 2012
Strength of competition isn’t great, but he has beaten a few guys that gave problems to other regional prospects in the past.
Leland Roling - January 4, 2012
This guy should head to Bellator and be given some delicious cans to sharpen up his MMA game then get entry into the next welterweight tournament,
Mrh347 - January 4, 2012
ZUFFA agrees with you guys.
This is the second prospect the UFC has signed shortly after you posted their bio! And Bellator has done the same with the Russian kid. Nice work fellas.
Tag01 - January 11, 2012 via mobile
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