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Stephen Thompson opened up about what the UFC told him when he outwrestled Nah-Shon Burrell early in his UFC career. Thompson, who it highly-accomplished in karate and kickboxing, made his MMA debut in 2010 and joined the UFC in 2012.
After winning his UFC debut, ‘Wonderboy’ was outwrestled by Matt Brown in his second UFC fight and lost via unanimous decision at UFC 145 in April 2012. However, Thompson showcased vastly-improved wrestling in his next fight, beating Nah-Shon Burrell via unanimous decision at UFC 160 in May 2013.
Fast-forward to 2022, and Thompson is on a two-fight losing streak after being outwrestled in his most recent octagon appearances by Gilbert Burns last July and Belal Muhammad in December.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘Wonderboy’ addressed this and revealed that he’s working on improving his overall MMA arsenal, his striking, and particularly his wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu skills. Thompson stated:
“Knowing that, looking back at those last two fights, earlier in my career, in my UFC career, I fought a guy named Nah-Shon Burrell. And I pretty much outwrestled him. And when I got back to the back, someone from the UFC – I don’t know who it was – UFC came to me and said, ‘Look, Stephen, great win, but it wasn’t your wrestling that got you here.’"
"So, I kind of was trying to read in between the lines. Okay, I got you. You want me to try to stand in there and knock these guys out. But it worked up to a certain point. You’re getting with the best of the best guys in the world; the top five. I’ve gotta have more than just my striking.”
Furthermore, ‘Wonderboy’ recalled catching Muhammad with a guillotine choke but being too tired to finish the choke and submit him. Thompson highlighted that he has to be more threatening in his grappling exchanges, which is what he’s working on.
Watch Stephen Thompson’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Stephen Thompson on the rise of MMA wunderkind Khamzat Chimaev
Speaking to James Lynch for MiddleEasy earlier this year, Stephen Thompson discussed MMA wunderkind Khamzat Chimaev’s meteoric rise. Addressing Chimaev’s much-awaited welterweight matchup against Gilbert Burns – a potential number-one contender’s fight – Thompson picked ‘Borz’ to beat Burns.
‘Wonderboy’ believes that Burns will be more submission-savvy against Chimaev, who’s a dominant wrestler. Regardless, he added that Chimaev has excellent striking, is taller, has a reach advantage, and will likely beat Burns. Thompson said:
“The guy’s been showing out. He’s been beating guys – and not just beating them, but just destroying them out there. So, yeah, I’ll put my money on Chimaev.”
