Stephen Thompson injury: Stephen Thompson releases first statement following UFC Nashville loss

Stephen Thompson recently offered his thoughts on his defeat at UFC Nashville. Thompson expressed gratitude for everyone's support while taking a lighthearted dig at his shin injury.

Thompson made his octagon comeback in a welterweight bout against Gabriel Bonfim in the co-main event of UFC Nashville on Saturday at the Bridgestone Arena in Tennessee. The former title challenger displayed excellent takedown defense and striking prowess. However, that wasn't enough, as Bonfim edged out a split decision win, despite many believing Thompson should have had his hand raised.

Following his loss, 'Wonderboy' resorted to social media and opened up about his unfortunate defeat. He also suffered a nasty shin injury from Bonfim's checked kick. Thompson captioned the post, writing:

''Nashville you are amazing! To my fans, I love y'all!! Thank you for your love and support always. Pops, thank you for always being in my corner, love you! To my team back home, thank you for all of your help for this fight camp. I felt great out there. Thank you to my team @ParadigmSports for always taking care of me! Also, shout to the @ufc Docs for stitching me up! Shin is split to the bone so time to focus on healing up!''

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Thompson has won only once in his last six octagon appearances. His defeat against Bonfim has put him on a three-fight losing skid. The 42-year-old has recently lost to Shavkat Rakhmonov, Joaquin Buckley, and several others.

Stephen Thompson discusses his UFC future

Stephen Thompson currently has one fight left in his UFC contract and despite being a veteran in the sport, he isn't ready to hang up his gloves anytime soon.

Thompson spoke to MMA Fighting ahead of UFC Nashville, saying he will evaluate his physical condition before deciding to retire.

''I’m in this game to keep pushing myself. I’m 42 years old, the oldest guy in the UFC. I want to continue to keep pushing forward to try to see how good I can get, keep evolving, keep getting better. The last three or four guys that I faced have been top contenders with Buckley, who just fought Usman. You had Shavkat Rakhmonov, the Gilbert Burn's, and the Belal Muhammad's and all these studs coming up...Fought for the title twice, so I’m happy where I’m at. I love it, but I’m going to continue to do it as long as my body will let me. So we’ll see how these fights go.”

Check out Stephen Thompson's comments below (0:00):

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Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena