The question we have to ask is do we, as a fan base underrate, under appreciate and take for granted Stephen Thompson. Holding a record of 16-5-1, he holds wins over some of the biggest names in the sport. His style is certainly unique and he’s without doubt a specialist. He falls into the category of ‘one of the best to never win a title’, despite two shots at the belt, it appears Thompson won’t gain a title shot anytime soon, if ever again, following a decision loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 264.
Is Stephen Thompson Underrated?
Style
We all know famous karate based style of Stephen Thompson is unique. His wide stance, always on his toes, quick reactions and ridiculous hip dexterity are all unmistakable elements of Thompson’s game. With a 58-0 kickboxing record before entering the UFC, Thompson certainly had the time to hone his trade.
When we consider karate based practitioners at the height of the UFC, it’s hard to look past Lyoto Machida. The former light heavyweight champion was famous for his karate style, quick reactions and elusive style, similar to Thompson.
How often do we see such a unique style? Not very often. Yes, Stephen Thompson is a well rounded mixed martial artist. He has a 73% takedown defence, despite facing some solid wrestlers, although according to UFC Stats, he’s never attempted a submission in his UFC career.
Go to Techniques
His go-to techniques include the snap side-kick. ‘Wonderboy’ uses this to keep his distance, off set opponents, as a quick counter and it also leads to a number of other techniques. He can utilise the stamp to the lead leg, or bring it up and attack the head. He used this extremely effectively against Jorge Masvidal in their UFC 217 fight.
The lead high kick is also a favourite, as we saw against Dan Stittgen. In arguably his greatest knockouts, Stephen Thompson followed a straight right with a lead high-kick. Landing on Stittgen from an angle that he didn’t see, Thompson was able to get the knockout. The power Thompson got was surprising, as all his weight was on his back leg and he didn’t seem to step into the kick at all. This is just another feather in the cap of Thompson.
Resumé
With the names on Stephen Thompson’s record, it’s hard to underrate him. In just his second UFC fight, he fought Matt Brown. Despite losing a unanimous decision, the UFC were clearly high on him to put him in there with a 13-11 veteran.
He holds wins over former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, former middleweight title challenger, Patrick Cote, long time veteran, Jake Ellenberger, former UFC welterweight champion, Johny Hendricks as well as former UFC title challenger and former Bellator welterweight champion, Rory MacDonald. These names all came during the same five fight winning run, showing just how impressive a run of form it was for Stephen Thompson.
After back to back title fights with Tyron Woodley, Thompson dominated Jorge Masvidal before losing a close split decision to Darren Till in Liverpool. A shock upset loss to Anthony Pettis lead to Thompson’s only knockout defeat thus far in his career.
Dominant victories over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal set up his UFC 264 bout with Gilbert Burns. Unfortunately, Thompson was unable to stop the takedown of the Brazilian, leading to a unanimous decision victory in favour of the Florida native.
Thompson has fought six former title challengers and four former champions in just a nine year UFC career. That’s more than the majority of the roster face in their entire careers.
What’s next for Stephen Thompson? There are still fights out there for him at 170lbs, but the road to another title shot looks like a long one.
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