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Stephen Thompson hopes to keep away from heading down the identical prickly path that has left a few of MMA’s greatest bloody and damaged down.
The 2-time welterweight title contender has his subsequent struggle booked for Dec. 16, when he meets the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296 in Las Vegas. It’s a matchup that appears designed to propel Rakhmonov nearer to a title shot and probably go away Thompson with one other current loss on his document.
Although Thompson is coming off of an exhilarating fourth-round TKO of Kevin Holland, he turned 40 this previous February and he’s conscious that the clock is ticking on his profession. A lifelong martial artist that has been in his justifiable share of octagon wars, Thompson has no real interest in seeing his legacy diminished by hanging on to his gloves too lengthy.
“That undoubtedly has gone by way of my head,” Thompson mentioned on The MMA Hour when requested if he’s affected by others discussing his potential retirement. “It’s nothing that I’ve truly talked about out loud, I don’t prefer to say it out loud, however I’ve thought it. I don’t wish to be that man that persons are like, ‘Why is he even on the market proper now? Simply taking an excessive amount of punishment.’ When Tony Ferguson fought, it might need been [against] Gaethje, and he stood there, he’s bloody and bashed, and he simply shakes his head, attempting to wake himself up it nearly regarded like. I used to be like, ‘Man, cease the struggle,’ however the struggle saved going. At that time in my head, I used to be like, I don’t prefer to see guys who’ve been on the prime of the sport, who’ve been legends of the sport, take punishment.
“B.J. Penn was one in every of them. He was on the pinnacle. Each struggle that he took after that that he misplaced, it made him lesser of a legend, I feel. If he would have stopped on the prime when he first did, he didn’t have to come back again. … The best way they go on the market, [like Fedor Emelianenko] he’s getting knocked out left and proper, what that does to folks in a while. That’s everlasting harm proper there. It is perhaps slowly bits at a time, however I don’t prefer to see folks take that sort of punishment after which be capable to see that in a while even after their profession the way it has affected them.”
Penn is a former two-division champion, having held titles at light-weight and welterweight, and is broadly thought to be one of the crucial proficient athletes ever to compete in MMA. Close to unstoppable in his prime, Penn went on a precipitous decline within the ‘10s, going winless in his final eight fights.
Thompson hasn’t fairly reached Penn’s heights, however he twice dueled Tyron Woodley for UFC gold. He’s on the lookout for another crack on the No. 1 spot, which is why he welcomed a struggle with the damaging Rakhmonov after previously being unfamiliar with him.
“That is it for me,” Thompson mentioned. “I’ve received a small run for that title and probably the final one. I do know all people’s calling me out as a result of I’m 40, however I really feel nice. I don’t really feel 40 years previous. On this recreation, that’s previous. I feel it got here up in my final struggle, I used to be the oldest man on the cardboard. I don’t know why that’s a factor, as a result of I do know older people who find themselves phenomenal fighters.
“Take a look at Glover Teixeira. He was, what, 41 or 42 when he received it and nonetheless crushing it. It was superior. So I’m right here for the veterans. Us veterans can nonetheless go on the market and break it down.”
In his current fights, Thompson has proven he can nonetheless foil high-level competitors as he downed Holland and prime 15-ranked fighters Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque. Nonetheless, amongst these wins have been two one-sided determination losses to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns. He’s simply 4-4 since his second struggle with Woodley in 2017.
A win over Rakhmonov would revitalize Thompson’s profession in a single day, whereas a loss will solely amplify requires “Wonderboy” to retire. In the long run, the one voice that Thompson cares essentially the most about is that of his father and coach Ray.
“At this level, no,” Thompson mentioned about having a selected age at which he’ll cease competing. “So long as I’m wholesome and I’m not taking an excessive amount of punishment, I’m going to do that so long as my physique will let me. Or I’ve talked about earlier than, when my dad says I’m completed. At this level he is aware of me higher than I do know myself.
“Us fighters, we wish to proceed to struggle till the day we die and typically you see fighters on the market who don’t have that particular person to inform them the reality: ‘You don’t have to do it.’ We’ve seen guys on the market who simply want to hold it up, however there’s no one to inform them that. When my dad says I’m completed, he is aware of me higher than I do know myself, I’ll hold it up.”
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