Stephen Randall Thompson (born February 11, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional full-contact kickboxer who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Thompson is undefeated through 37 amateur and 20 professional kickboxing matches, with 28 wins by knockout. He is currently #1 in official UFC welterweight rankings and ranked as the #2 welterweight in the world by Sherdog. He has trained with former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and currently trains with his brother in law, former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman.
Thompson is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished strikers in the UFC.
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Martial arts career
Kickboxing
Thompson is the Head Instructor of the children's karate program at Upstate Karate in Simpsonville, South Carolina. He is the oldest son of Ray Thompson, who is his trainer and manager. Thompson graduated from high school in 2001. He has been studying martial arts since his pre-teens and holds black belt ranks in Tetsushin Ryu Kempo, American Kickboxing and Jujutsu. He studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Machado who is also his brother-in-law.
In 2006, Thompson was the #1 ranked fighter in Chuck Norris' World Combat League.
Thompson has also been featured in Martial Arts Digest magazine, Fighter magazine and MMA Authority magazine.
Thompson has performed along with his father at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in the "Athletes Project", and has appeared in several TV commercials.
Thompson fought Raymond Daniels in a highly anticipated bout. Thompson lost the bout by technical knockout due to a knee injury suffered by him that left him unable to continue. The bout has since been ruled a no contest as Thompson's injury was caused by an illegal attack.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Thompson was expected to face Justin Edwards on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143, replacing an injured Mike Stumpf. However, Edwards was forced out with an injury and replaced by Dan Stittgen. Thompson won the fight via KO in the first round after landing a flush head kick. For his performance, Thompson was awarded Knockout of the Night honors.
Thompson lost to Matt Brown on April 21, 2012, at UFC 145 via unanimous decision.
Thompson was expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154. However, Thompson was forced out of the bout with a knee injury and was replaced by Matthew Riddle.
Thompson was expected to face Amir Sadollah on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160. However, Sadollah pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Nah-Shon Burrell. Thompson won the fight via unanimous decision.
Thompson next faced Chris Clements on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165. He won the fight via knockout in the second round.
Thompson faced Robert Whittaker on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170. He won the bout via first-round technical knockout. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
Thompson faced Patrick Côté on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. Thompson won the fight via unanimous decision.
Thompson was expected to headline against Brandon Thatch on February 14, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 60. However, Thompson pulled out of the fight on January 30, citing a rib injury and was replaced by former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson.
Thompson faced Jake Ellenberger on July 12, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale. He won the fight via KO in the first round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
Thompson was expected to face Neil Magny on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195. However, Magny was tabbed as an injury replacement for Matt Brown and instead faced Kelvin Gastelum on November 21, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. In turn, Thompson was removed from the card and rebooked to face former champion Johny Hendricks on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. He won the bout via TKO in the first round. The win also earned Thompson his third Performance of the Night bonus award.
Thompson next faced Rory MacDonald on June 18, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Thompson fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 205, where he faced reigning champion Tyron Woodley. The fight ended in a majority draw with two judges scoring the fight 47-47 and the third 48-47 in favor of Woodley. However, there was some confusion as the result was initially announced as a split decision victory for Woodley only to be corrected moments later when the decision of a majority draw was announced, albeit with the same result of Woodley remaining champion. Subsequently, both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night bonus awards. UFC President Dana White stated that he expected that a rematch would be next for each fighter.
The rematch with Woodley took place on March 4, 2017, in the main event at UFC 209. Thompson lost by majority decision. Five of nineteen media outlets scored the bout in favor of Woodley, six for Thompson, and eight scored it a draw.
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Personal life
Thompson started training at age of three with Kempo Karate. His father was a professional fighter and owned a karate school. Thompson's brother-in-law is Carlos Machado. At age of 14 he began practicing Ju-Jitsu and American kickboxing. Thompson began practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age of 20 and mixed martial arts at 26.
Thompson is a practicing Christian.
Championships and accomplishments
Kickboxing
All championship information from WonderBoyMMA.com
- 1999 I.S.K.A Georgia State Middleweight Amateur Champion
- 2000 I.S.K.A Southeast Middleweight Amateur Champion
- 2000 I.K.F South East Light Middleweight Amateur Champion
- 2000 I.K.F National Amateur Tournament Middleweight Champion
- 2000 P.K.C National Light Middleweight Amateur Champion
- 2000 U.S.A.K.B.F North American Middleweight Amateur Champion
- 2001 I.K.F National Amateur Tournament Light Heavyweight Champion
- 2002 I.K.F National Light Heavyweight Amateur Champion
- 2002 I.K.F North American Amateur Tournament Light Cruiserweight Champion
- 2001 P.K.C National Light Heavyweight Amateur Champion
- 2001 U.S.A.K.B.F Light Heavyweight Amateur World Champion
- 2001 W.P.K.A Light Heavyweight Amateur World Champion
- 2003 I.K.F Light Cruiserweight Amateur World Champion
- 2003 I.A.K.S.A Cruiserweight World Champion
- 2005 W.A.K.O Cruiserweight World Champion
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs Tyron Woodley
- Knockout of the Night (One time) vs Dan Stittgen
- Performance of the Night (Three times) vs Robert Whittaker, Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks
Mixed martial arts record
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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