When GQ caught up with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, you would not have been able tell he was weeks away from his October 5 bought against Joaquin Buckley (19-6-0) as part of a stacked card for UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. Seated in his family’s Upstate Karate facility in his hometown of Simpsonville, South Carolina, one of the UFC’s most accomplished strikers and most entertaining fighters was just hours away from beginning his duties as the head instructor of the children’s karate program.
At 41 years old, it’s easy to ask why Thompson is still stepping into the octagon with competitors who are more than a decade younger, when so many of his peers have called it a career. But martial arts have always been a fixture in his life. Thompson began training at the age of three—his father Ray was a former professional kickboxer. Remaining in shape has never been an issue as he’s always in an environment where he can train and still take lessons from the man who taught him everything he knows.
Thompson spoke with GQ about what still drives him to compete and what will dictate when that comes to an end. He also talked about the early mistakes he made in trying to cut weight, and the post-fight meal that is a reminder of life before the bright lights and big promotions.
GQ: Your last fight was in December. Given where you’re at in your career, are training camps easier or are there more challenges now?
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson: I’m one of those MMA fighters who trains year-round. There are a lot of guys—especially at the top of the game—that only train whenever they have fights coming up. My family runs a martial arts school. We’ve been here for 41 years and that’s a big part of my life. I pick up kids after school because we have an after-school program. Martial arts is definitely a lifestyle for me and my family. It’s pretty easy to pick up the training because I live at the gym.
What’s it going to be like to get to fight in front of family and friends in Utah?
I’m super excited about it. I owe Utah one because I was supposed to fight last summer against Michel Pereira. He ended up not making weight. But the guy that I’m fighting, Joaquin Buckley—he fights at 185. He’s not a big 185, but he’s notorious for making weight. So I don’t have any fear of this guy not making weight. He’s also a type of guy—kind of like Kevin Holland—as soon as he steps into that Octagon, he brings it. He’s out there to put you to sleep, which makes for a great fight. I think it’s going to be one of those “fight of the night,” for sure.
What motivates you to still step into the Octagon at this point in your career?
I’ve been in martial arts since I was three, been fighting since I was 15—kickboxing, and MMA. For the longest time, especially in my younger years—it was always the title. But I realized that doesn’t keep you hungry—Just having that as your motivation won’t always keep you hungry to keep you in the gym or keep your mind focused on what needs to be done out there in the octagon. So I’ve got a little mindset switch and followed in my dad’s footsteps. The goal is obviously the title, but that’s not the main goal. The main goal is to see how much better can I get from my last fight, especially at my age.
I came into MMA fairly late in my career. Now, that I’m at the top, there’s a slew of guys. Everybody’s really good everywhere. The blueprint on how to beat me is just to get me down to the ground. So I have to stay hungry in the fact that I have to continue to do better. How good can I get at 41 years old, when most people retire? So I think with that mindset switch, that’s what keeps me hungry. My test to see how good I’m getting is to be able to fight those up-and-coming studs in the UFC. That’s my yearly exam for training. Keeping myself in the gym, continuing to ask questions, and come in with an empty cup. I think that mind switch has helped me out a ton and with that mindset, success will come.
What do you feel are some of the key factors that have helped you still be able to compete with those up-and-coming fighters?
My dad is my main coach. I call him Papa Ridegand. He fought back in the 70s and 80s. He’s trained a lot of world-champion kickboxers and a lot of MMA fighters. There are a lot of father-son duos out there that didn’t really make it because they had a lot of head-butting going on. We know how to separate the father-son, student-coach relationship. I’m not saying we don’t butt heads, but at the end of the day, this guy has been there longer than I have, and he’s trained the best of the best. All I can do is listen.
He knows how to train fighters, to be able to continue to train and continue to fight later in their years. You can always condition the body, but you can’t condition the brain. So we’re always keeping it light. We have a group of guys that leave their ego at the door and we’ll come in and we help each other train. You have to listen to your body at this age, too. I spend more time with physical and massage therapy—letting it heal up. If I wake up and feel like I’m worn down, I don’t train, but I will come in and do things that aren’t as intense. My coach knows me better than I know myself. So if he sees that I’m getting fatigued, he’ll have me back off. I think my style as well. There’s a lot of guys in the UFC who fight like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, but there’s only so much your brain and your body can take. Even though I’m in the fight game, I don’t like getting hit. That’s a little easier said than done. But I think with my karate style and background, the way that I’m able to evade the strikes—especially the heavy blows—I think it’s helped my longevity as well.
What is the impact you’ve felt martial arts have had on your life outside of the combat aspect?
Man, I think it’s made me not just the martial artist that I am today, but just being a good human being. That’s something that I try to give back to the kids that I teach. It’s a lifestyle, and this is one of the reasons why we have so many kids at our facility. We have grandkids of parents that have been through us. Yeah, it’s a good workout and a great way to lose weight, but it’s the character-building aspect that I think has helped a lot of human beings around the world.
