UFC: Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson eyes Jorge Masvidal, another title run after masterclass vs Geoff Neal
- ‘Wonderboy is still here, baby … that title, 2021 – I tell you, it’s gonna be mine, just watch and see,’ says Thompson
- ‘I wanna see the NMF vs the BMF,’ adds former welterweight challenger after unanimous decision in UFC Vegas 17 main event
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson battled through adversity to put on a striking masterclass against Geoff Neal in a showcase performance that signified he is still a serious contender for the UFC welterweight title.
The 37-year-old former title challenger Thompson (16-4) has now made it back-to-back wins against rising stars of the division in Neal (13-3) and Vicente Luque (19-7). He threw a personal best 140 significant strikes, to Neal’s 108, in Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 17 main event.
The American’s resurgence has come on the back of a shock KO defeat in March 2019 by Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (24-10) – himself a winner on this card’s prelims back up at 170 pounds, by decision against Alex Morono (18-7, one no contest).
“It feels great man, I’ve been off for a year, broke both hands in my last fight at UFC 244,” Thompson told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview on the ESPN+ broadcast. “It’s the longest I’ve been off in the fight game for a while, so just glad to be back.”
“‘Wonderboy’ is still here baby, that title, 2021 – I tell you, it’s gonna be mine, just watch and see,” added Thompson, who fought to an incredible draw with former champ Tyron Woodley in 2016 before losing a decision in a rematch.