Wonderboy: A Welterweight Title Contender Has Arrived

First off, I want to give a boatload of credit to my 411 Ground & Pound Radio colleague Robert Winfree. He went all in on his prediction that Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson would beat and knockout Johny Hendricks at UFC Fight Night 82. While I believed that Thompson was capable of achieving a big upset, I ultimately ended up picking Hendricks due to his main event and five-round fight experience as well as his wrestling ability. Instead, Wonderboy kept the fight exactly where he wanted it. He stuffed Hendricks takedowns and used his trademark, dynamic offense to take him a victory inside the first round. The win effectively cements Wonderboy as a new contender in the welterweight title mix.

I was live in attendance and cageside for Thompson’s Octagon debut at UFC 143, just over four years ago this month. In the first round, Thompson knocked out Dan Stittgen, and the potential was obvious. Thompson, with his karate credentials, uses a unique striking style you don’t often see utilized inside the UFC. Machida has a unique style that utilizes karate, but Thompson has a much different type of offense and attack. He’s more aggressive, and he uses a lot more side kicks.

Since his loss to Matt Brown at UFC 145 in 2012, Thompson has gone undefeated in his last six fights, culminating in last Saturday’s win over Hendricks. Thompson is now on a 6-0 winning streak in the UFC, with four knockouts, and he’s 7-1 in the UFC overall. But with that win over Hendricks, Thompson will now be ranked in the top five of the division and in a very good spot to vie for a title shot. Thompson was already smartly campaigning for a title fight with champion Robbie Lawler after the fight. It’s a smart move as there a number of contenders who are looking for a shot in a division that’s very stacked right now in welterweight. You have Tyron Woodley, the man who was supposed to fight Johny Hendricks last October in a title eliminator at UFC 192. Unfortunately, Hendricks had to withdraw from that fight due to a bad weight cut, and Woodley has been sitting on the shelf ever since. Then there is Carlos Condit. Condit lost a razor-thin close decision to Robbie Lawler earlier this year. However, Condit seems to be on the fence on if he will return to fight again or possibly retire. The fight was so close, if Condit does return, the UFC might offer him an immediate rematch. Then there’s Demian Maia and Matt Brown. Maia wants a title shot, and he’s on a winning streak. Maia and Brown are set to fight in May, and the winner there will also move up the welterweight ranks.

With Condit’s career still up in the air, I’m in full support of Thompson getting the next title shot. Thompson has been one of the most consistent and exciting performers at welterweight in the last several years. His karate style is a unique style match-up for another striker like Lawler. Thompson did a tremendous job of maintaining distance against Lawler, and his kicks are crisp and downright lethal. Not to mention, Thompson managed to stuff the takedown attempts of an NCAA Division I championship wrestler. Thompson has clearly worked on and improved all aspects of his game. On paper, Thompson vs. Lawler could very well be another Fight of the Year Candidate.

Just thinking realistically, Woodley is not in a good position to fight for the title next. Woodley’s performances are constantly hit and miss. Not only that, he’s always trying to pick and choose his match-ups to get a favorable title eliminator fight or a title fight. No disrespect for Woodley trying to plan out his career and go for the brass ring. However, I think the problem is that the UFC brass probably doesn’t like that. He’s been passed over before and complained about it, and I can easily see that happening again. And no disrespect to Woodley, but if I had to choose between Lawler vs. Woodley or Lawler vs. Thompson, I would pick Lawler vs. Thompson just about everyday of the week. After Thompson’s recent string of exciting performances, that would probably be the case for most fans as well.

Thompson’s presence definitely makes welterweight an interesting place right now. Welterweight is probably in one of its most competitive and interesting states it’s been in the UFC in a long time. Right now, the welterweight division is a talent-rich division with a lot of strong contenders. Thompson has just cemented another in the mix, and he could very well be the next UFC welterweight champion.

Jeffrey Harris is 411mania’s resident Jack of All Trades and has covered MMA for the site since 2008. You can shoot him an e-mail at [email protected] or hit him up on Facebook. You can also check out the latest edition of the podcast he co-hosts alongside Robert Winfree, The 411 Ground & Pound Radio Show, HERE.