Stephen Thompson Biography | Stephen Thompson| Who is Stephen Thompson?
Stephen Thompson, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (born February 11, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He is a former full-contact kickboxer and was undefeated through 37 amateur and 58 professional kickboxing matches. Thompson is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished strikers in UFC history.
He has trained with former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and currently trains with his brother-in-law, former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman. As of October 7, 2019, he is ranked #8 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Stephen Thompson Age | How Old is Stephen Thompson?
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former full-contact kickboxer and was undefeated through 37 amateur and 58 professional kickboxing matches.
Stephen Randall Thompson is 36 years old as of 2019. He was born on February 11, 1983, in Simpsonville, South Carolina, United States
Background
Growing up in a martial arts family where Thompson’s father, Ray Thompson, who was a professional kickboxer and owned Upstate karate school in South Carolina, Thompson started training at age of three, under his father’s guidance. He started competing in kickboxing and karate at the age of 15.
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-ryū 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 he suffered that left him unable to continue. However, this was later overturned into a no contest.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
2012
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 (30–27, 29–27, and 30–27).
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.
2013
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 (29–28, 30–27, and 29–28).
Thompson next faced Chris Clements on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165. He won the fight via knockout in the second round.
2014
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 (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27).
2015
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.
2016
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 (50–45, 50–45, and 48–47).
Thompson fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 205, where he faced the 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.
2017
The rematch with Woodley took place on March 4, 2017, in the main event at UFC 209. Thompson lost by majority decision (48–47, 47–47, and 48–47). In a sample of 19 media pundits scoring the fight, five scored it in favor of Woodley, six scored in favor of Thompson, and eight scored it a draw.
Thompson faced Jorge Masvidal on November 4, 2017, at UFC 217. He won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, and 30–27).
2018
Thompson faced Darren Till on May 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 130. At the weigh-ins, Till weighed in at 174.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit of 171.
After negotiating with Thompson’s team, the bout proceeded at a catchweight with the stipulation that Till can’t weigh more than 188 pounds on the day of the fight.
Also, Till forfeited 30 percent of his purse to Thompson. Thompson lost via unanimous decision (48–47, 49–46, and 49–46). Conversely, 22 of 25 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Thompson.
2019
Thompson faced former UFC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in the headliner of UFC on ESPN+ 6 on March 23, 2019. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round, marking the first time he’s ever been stopped in MMA or kickboxing competition.
Thompson is expected to face Vicente Luque on November 2, 2019, at UFC 244.
Stephen Thompson Height And Weight | How Tall is
Stephen Thompson?
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He has a height of 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) tall and weight of 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Stephen Thompson Personal life | Brother
Thompson’s brother-in-law is Carlos Machado. Additionally, Thompson’s brother is married to Chris Weidman’s sister.
Who is Carlos Machado?
Carlos Machado (born November 9, 1963) is a former world master’s champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the eldest of the five Machado Brothers, known for BJJ, that also includes Roger, Rigan, Jean Jacques, and John.
He is also the brother-in-law of UFC fighter Stephen Thompson. He currently runs BJJ schools across the United States, Australia, Canada, and Mexico.
Carlos started martial arts at the age of four. His main instructor throughout his life was his cousin Carlos Gracie, Jr. but he has also trained with Helio Gracie, Carlson Gracie, Rolls Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Carolin Gracie, Rillion Gracie, and his brothers.
While in Brazil, he has successfully completed and was champion for 10 years straight in competition at the State and National level which at the time was equivalent to the Worlds as BJJ had not spread to the masses yet.
He competed and won against many of today’s top founders of BJJ teams! He believes BJJ is the greatest addition to modern martial arts.
Carlos also lived with his Uncle Carlos Gracie, founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Carlos’s greatest mentor, for 5 years while attending and eventually graduating from Law School.
Moving to the USA
Carlos was teaching in America as early as 1990. In April 1994 he moved to Los Angeles, California. There he met martial arts movie star Chuck Norris, who was instrumental in promoting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the Machado family.
Since then, Mr. Norris has been one of the greatest advocates of Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Carlos lived in Los Angeles until the end of 1995, when he moved to the city of Dallas, Texas.
There he taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu out of the same building in which Chuck Norris’s television show “Walker, Texas Ranger” was filmed.
That allowed Machado not only to teach at his studio but also to take part in many episodes of that popular show. He often assisted on choreographing fight scenes with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Besides running his school, Machado has been involved in the competition, winning the Pan American of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (97/98), he also won several super fights in the U.S.
(U.S Open 98/99), he competed in ADCC with a broken foot and still placed and earned the award of fastest submission in 1998, and the World Master’s Championships (2000) in two weight divisions (middleweight and open class). After an impressive 34-year stellar competition career, he retired from the competition arena winning the Worlds!
He currently holds the highest rank of this style in the Southwest (Eighth Degree Black Belt). Carlos Machado is considered the “godfather” of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Texas.
Carlos has built one of the fastest-growing affiliate school programs in the World, which now includes representatives in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri, Philadelphia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico,
England, France, Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. Carlos has also been inducted into no less than 8 Martial Arts Hall of Fame for different contributions to the world of Martial Arts and Brazilians Jiu-Jitsu.
Stephen Thompson Image
Stephen Thompson Wife and brother in law
Thompson keeps his personal life very much private and it’s unclear if he is seeing anyone at the moment. Thompson’s sister is married to Brazilian Jui-Jitsu world champion Carlos Machado.
He also considers longtime sparring partner Chris Weidman family, as Thompson’s brother is married to Weidman’s sister.
Gym
Thompson trains out of Pitch Black MMA and is also a member of the elite Serra-Longo Fight Team. Aside from picking the brain of Ray Longo and Matt Serra, Thompson is coached by his father and now a trainer and manager Ray, who was also a professional kickboxer back in the day.
Stephen Thompson Net Worth
Stephen Thompson is an American professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who has a net worth of $3 million as of 2019.
Apart from his post-fight purses, Thompson has received bonuses by winning KO of the night (one time), Fight of the Night (one time), and Performance of the Night (thrice).
He holds a 5th-degree black belt in Tetsushin Ryu Kempo Karate, a 1st-degree black belt in Tetsu Shin Ryu Ju-Jitsu, and a black belt in American Kickboxing where he is 20 – 0 and is a 15-time champion.
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