Stephen Thompson opens up about the final fight of his UFC contract, when "Wonderboy" could return to the Octagon

Stephen Thompson has competed in the sport of MMA since 2010. The kickboxing veteran has, on that note, been a fighter on the UFC organization's roster since 2012. 

"Wonderboy" has now revealed that his next fight would mark the final one of his current UFC deal. 

Stephen Thompson discusses the final fight of his UFC deal; keen on competing at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in November

During a recent conversation with James Lynch for Home of Fight, Stephen Thompson signaled that he'd love his next fight to be booked for the UFC's annual Madison Square Garden (MSG) event that's expected to transpire in November at the iconic MSG in New York. The South Carolina-born fighter stated: 

"Yeah, so, I mean, I'm in talks with the UFC right now. And we're looking at Madison Square Garden in November. So back at MSG. I love fighting at MSG. Spent a lot of time in Long Island, so New York is kind of like my home away from home. But, yeah, that's kind of like what we're shooting for." 

The striking maestro noted that he doesn't have an opponent booked for his next matchup. He said, "Don't have an opponent yet. So we'll see where that ends up. That is the plan. Madison Square Garden, November 14th -- gotta make it happen." 

Unraveling that he's headed into the final fight of his current contract with the UFC, Thompson said, "I've actually got one fight left on my contract... One fight left; we're looking at November." 

Stephen Thompson hinted at wanting an exciting stylistic matchup next

Stephen Thompson suggested that he and his team are looking for an interesting matchup, which would be a "barnburner," in the UFC welterweight division. Many fans have called upon Thompson to be matched up against fellow striking specialists to produce exciting fights. 

Upon being asked about possible opponents for his upcoming fight, the 43-year-old underlined that the UFC welterweight division was akin to a conveyor belt, with the same fighters moving up and down the ranks. 

He added, however, that there's been an influx of new contenders in the weight class, which he implied was good to see. Addressing his most recent opponent, Gabriel Bonfim, Thompson seemed to suggest that the Brazilian fighter is doing quite well in the 170-pound division. 

The karateka also praised young stars such as Carlos Prates and Ian Machado Garry, further pointing out that Garry is set to face UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev for the title next.

Apparently, he was interested in fighting Argentinian striking savant Santiago Ponzinibbio, but the latter suffered a TKO defeat against Sam Patterson last month. In a nutshell, Thompson signaled that he'd prefer facing a fellow striker to give the fans an exciting contest on the feet. 

A beloved fighter and revered karate coach, Thompson is on a three-fight losing streak. The former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger is coming off a controversial split decision defeat against Gabriel Bonfim, whom he faced in July of last year. 

A number of fans asserted that Thompson was more deserving of the victory against Bonfim on the judges' scorecards. It was preceded by a submission loss against Shavkat Rakhmonov in 2023 and a KO defeat at the hands of Joaquin Buckley in 2024. 

Watch Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson's discussion concerning his next fight below (*comments at the 0:55-minute mark of the video):