Stephen Thompson was pumped when he got the fight offer to headline UFC Orlando against Kevin Holland.
After Thompson lost back-to-back fights to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns, he told the UFC he wanted to fight a striker. He admitted he turned down a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov as he just wanted a fun fight and gets his wish as he will headline UFC Orlando against Kevin Holland.
“I’m smiling, I can’t stop smiling, it’s going to be fun. The reason why I’m smiling is because this is what the fans want to see,” Thompson said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I hate putting on, I don’t like boring fights. When I fight the Belal’s and the Gilbert Burns, especially the way they did it, it would’ve been better if they were trying for submissions and stuff. It just wasn’t an exciting fight. It reminded me of the Demian Maia-Tyron Woodley fight where they just shoot and fans are booing. Fans want to see what makes ‘Wonderboy,’ ‘Wonderboy’ and that is my striking and I’m excited for sure. I know Kevin Holland is excited as well.”
Although Thompson enters the matchup on a two-fight losing streak and is nearly 40-years-old, he doesn’t think there is pressure on him. Instead, he says he just fights for fun which has allowed him to not worry about the result.
“I feel like there is no pressure. This is my job here at the Karate school,” Thompson explained. “I fight for the fun of it, I don’t have to fight to make a living. So, I do it for the fun and to be entertaining. It is a way I can test myself to see how far I can go, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It forces me to be better every day.”
With Thompson not worried about the result, it allows him to have fun in the Octagon which is when he thinks he is at his best.
With that, Stephen Thompson is confident he will be able to show off his striking and get his hand raised against Kevin Holland. Yet, he is preparing for a tough fight as he thinks it likely will go all five rounds.
“I know that he is durable, I know he is tough. I’ve fought durable dudes before in Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal,” Thompson said. “He has fought some scary dudes at 185 that couldn’t put him away, like Thiago Santos. Mentally, I don’t go out there looking for the knockout. I just focus on the hardest fight imaginable and that is what I prepare for.”
Should Thompson get his hand raised, he isn’t sure where that puts him in the division. But, he believes he likely will need to face a grappler next time out.
“It gets me back in the win column and boosts me to fight someone ranked above me,” Thompson said. “Just prepare for probably another grappler because our weight division is stacked with a slew of grapplers. I have to get better at that as well.”
Although Thompson isn’t sure what a win over Holland does for him, he makes it clear he isn’t thinking about retiring. ‘Wonderboy’ turns 40 in February but believes he still can hang with the best so has no plans to retire anytime soon.
“It literally has not crossed my mind. Everybody else is talking about it. But, I have just gotten laid on the last two fights and didn’t take any punishment,” Thompson said. “In my Vincente Luque and Geoff Neal fights, I took more punishment in those fights than I did in my last two. I literally came out unscathed with no marks or bruises. I feel good, I really do. People are talking about it, but why? I’m ready to rock and roll.”
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