MMA
Stephen Thompson has no plans to retire any time soon: ‘I feel just as good at 41 as I did when I was 25’
There are only a handful of fighters who have competed at a high level in the UFC once they passed the 40-year mark, but Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson knows he’s more than just a number.
A perennial top-10 contender in the welterweight division, Thompson returns at UFC 307 for a fight against Joaquin Buckley. Having celebrated his 41st birthday earlier this year, he inevitably gets quizzed about how much longer he plans on fighting. Though that may be a natural curiosity given his age, Thompson promises he’s not going anywhere after Oct. 5 but back to his gym to begin training for his next UFC appearance.
“People are looking down on me because I’m 41,” Thompson told MMA Fighting. “I feel just as good at 41 as I did when I was 25. I don’t have the crazy injuries. I’m smart with my training. I’m just as fast. Just as crafty. I’m improving in every aspect of the game.”
Perhaps the better question for Thompson isn’t regarding how much longer he has left to fight, but rather what kinds of goals does he want to pursue in the future?
Thompson twice fought for a UFC title and he’s never shied away from going for gold again, but his drive these days isn’t necessarily predicated on whether or not he becomes champion.
It might sound hokey, but he actually prefers to take a big picture approach to his career these days rather than any single purpose taking precedence.
“The title is always there but I think at this age and the more that I’ve trained and seen champions and their mindsets, the goal is to always better myself in training,” Thompson said. “My test to that is to fight in the UFC, is to fight these studs, the best of the best in the world and that’s where I get my glory from.
“I train, I’m a lifelong martial artist, I’m constantly trying to get better and my test is to fight the best in the world.”
Typically speaking when fighters start to get a little older, UFC CEO Dana White often mentions some variation of the phrase that “Father Time is undefeated” and that age eventually catches up to everyone.
That probably strikes fear in the hearts of many athletes, but don’t count Thompson among them.
“I like being 41 and being in the UFC,” Thompson said with a smile. “It’s cool to have guys that are on the same card as you asking for your autograph. There was a point where I was in the UFC and nobody was wanting my autograph, not even fighters, not even fans.
“Now it’s to the point where fighters, guys that are in the UFC making a name for themselves, are asking for my autograph. Are you kidding me? I think it’s the coolest thing in the world. So they look at me as a veteran but not just that but as one of the best.”’
Prior to his fight being booked at UFC 307, Thompson was actually gifted a rather hilarious nickname that sounds like it’s related to his age after he ran into Buckley and a former opponent at UFC 303 in June.
“During International Fight Week, [Joaquin Buckley] was begging for [the fight],” Thompson explained. “He was like ‘Wonderboy’ let’s make this thing happen.’ It was funny because Kevin Holland was there, too, and Kevin Holland was calling Joaquin Buckley his son. [He was saying] ‘Nah, son’ and then he comes up to me and said, ‘Yo, granddad.’ I’m like, granddad?
“He’s like, ‘You beat me and I beat him so you can’t be fighting grandson.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God,’ they had me cracking up.”
Currently riding a four-fight win streak since moving to welterweight, Buckley has been champing at the bit to get a higher-ranked opponent and Thompson became his target. While he’s never backed down from a challenge, Thompson has seen plenty of fighters in his position pass on those kinds of call-outs because they’re not interested in opponents below them in the top 15.
Thompson never understood that mentality, especially after he had to travel down the same road when he first arrived in the UFC and needed ranked opposition to give him the chance to prove himself. Now he’s just doing the same thing for Buckley.
“With somebody like him, I’ve never strayed away from anybody challenging me,” Thompson said. “I always love giving those guys that are not ranked in the top 10 a shot at coming up. Just like the Jake Ellenbergers did for me, the Rory MacDonalds, the Johny Hendricks’ did for me. I wasn’t even ranked in the top 10 when I got offered those guys and they took it.
“You’ve got so many guys now in the welterweight division who are trying to hold on to their spot and not let any of these other guys get a chance. I was given a chance. It’s my turn to go back and give these guys a chance to come up and try to get that title, make them earn it.”
Fleetwood turned to the inexperienced Charlie Adam as manager last season but he could not prevent relegation from League One.
The Scotsman has the Cod Army in the final play-off spot, playing an attractive possession-based style but they could drop out of the top seven on Saturday with their game against Colchester postponed because of international call-ups.
After defeat by Crawley in the play-off final, Crewe have regrouped and five wins from six matches has them in eighth place before their trip to Doncaster.
The Gresty Road club lost the goals of Elliott Nevitt and Courtney Baker-Richardson in the summer when they turned down new deals, while Rio Adebisi and Luke Offord also opted for pastures new.
Manager Lee Bell did convince forward Chris Long to sign a new contract and former Stevenage striker Kane Hemmings will have to plug the gap up front.
Bradford are always tipped to be up among the frontrunners and in Graham Alexander they have a man who has promotion experience from League Two with Fleetwood.
The Bantams also have the prolific Andy Cook, and if he stays fit they will surely remain in the frame.
Newport are going down a different route after dispensing with the services of Graham Coughlan and appointing the former Swansea coach, Nelson Jardim.
The Portuguese is well known to Newport owner Huw Jenkins from their time together at Liberty Stadium, and the loan signing of striker Kyle Hudlin looks a smart piece of business.
Along with Bradford and Newport, Grimsby find themselves just one point outside the play-off spots with manager David Artell waxing lyrical about their recent win at Gillingham.
A subsequent 3-0 home defeat by Doncaster felt like a dose of reality and they will need to plug a leaky defence which is the third worst in the division.
Fresh from romping to the National League title by 12 points, Chesterfield were many pundits’ tip for promotion and, despite an inconsistent start, a four-match unbeaten run may indicate they are getting to grips with things.
With James Berry, Armando Dobra, Will Grigg and Dilan Markanday in his ranks, manager Paul Cook is well stocked with the firepower needed to sustain a promotion push.
A lunchtime win over Notts County for the Spireites would push them up from 12th to seventh.
Paul Scally has been voted off the board at Gillingham after 29 years at the club.
The former chairman sold his majority stake to American businessman Brad Galinson in December 2022 but continued to serve as a non-executive director.
He was officially voted out of the position by shareholders on Thursday after Galinson called a meeting at Priestfield Stadium.
“We are very frustrated with how little we can say about it,” Galinson told a fan forum event on Thursday evening.
“Mr Scally was removed as a director both at the football club and GFC Holdings, so that was concluded. It’s been a difficult process.”
It ends the 69-year-old’s association with the club with immediate effect.
Gillingham were relegated to League Two in 2022 after nine seasons in League One.
They are aiming to gain promotion this season, and sit in second place before their home game against Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
England interim manager Lee Carsley says the Three Lions “have to be courageous at times” after his attacking line-up failed to impress in a 2-1 defeat by Greece.
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In their latest Nations League fixture Northern Ireland will take on Belarus in Hungary on Saturday, the neutral venue the result of Uefa restrictions on the hosts. Fifty years ago, it was Northern Ireland playing in homes away from home with no international football staged in Belfast between October 1971 and April 1975. BBC Sport NI looks back on the side’s nomadic years.
Sammy McIlroy still vividly remembers what it was like to see George Best in the flesh for the first time.
While the two would later become Manchester United and Northern Ireland team-mates, for a 13-year-old to watch the soon-to-be Ballon d’Or winner against Scotland at Windsor Park in October 1967 was “absolutely mesmerising”.
“To this day I can still see things George did with the ball,” remembers the midfielder who went on to win 88 Northern Ireland caps before managing his country.
“I’ll never forget it. The crowd, the atmosphere, it was electric.
“I’d never seen anything like that, a player with the ball tied to his boots. It just made me want to go back home and get the ball out on the street.”
It would be a rare privilege soon denied to the people of Northern Ireland.
By the time of McIlroy’s own international debut against Spain in a Euro ’72 qualifier just five years later, Northern Ireland were the “home” team in a game staged at Hull City’s Boothferry Park, an arrangement enabled by Terry Neill being the player-manager of both sides.
The early 1970s provided the bloodiest years of the Troubles, the name given colloquially to the decades-long sectarian conflict in the country and, after a 1-1 draw against the USSR in October 1971, Northern Ireland was deemed unsafe to host international football.
“To be honest, I was devastated it wasn’t in Belfast,” says McIlroy of the 1-1 draw with Spain, the first of 18 consecutive fixtures played outside of Northern Ireland.
“I was delighted to play, to make my debut for Northern Ireland, it just took the gloss off it that it wasn’t in Belfast in front of my home fans. That was very, very sad.”
During the following years Northern Ireland would play in front of a small mix of expats and curious locals, using Goodison Park, Highfield Road, Hillsborough and Craven Cottage just to fulfil their World Cup ’74 qualifying fixtures, as well as those in the British Home Nations Championship.
Goalkeeper Angus Gunn is injured.
So are right-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson. And three starting central defenders in the shape of Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna and Kieran Tierney.
Second-choice left-back Greg Taylor is hobbled too.
Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn and Stuart Armstrong will be at home instead of in the Scotland midfield.
And strikers Tommy Conway and Lawrence Shankland are absent too.
It leaves the squad looking alarmingly undermanned, but can you eke a coherent XI out of the players who are left behind?
Getty ImagesScotland fans will only be able watch upcoming Nations League football matches against Croatia and Portugal on YouTube.
Norwegian broadcaster Viaplay holds the rights to all of the Scotland mens team’s competitive matches until 2028 – but last year decided to scale back its UK football operation.
The Nations League qualifying matches will now only be available on the ViaPlay YouTube channel.
Steve Clarke’s side faces Croatia in Zagreb on Saturday at 17:00 before taking on Portugal at Hampden on Tuesday at 19:45.
As well as the Scotland men’s matches, Viaplay held the rights to show the Scottish League Cup and URC rugby when it announced it would end all coverage of UK sports.
The Nordic media group then sold its UK sporting division back to Premier Sports earlier this year.
The transaction included its share of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup, but did not include the rights to Uefa’s international competitions.
Getty ImagesViaplay sold the rights to Scotland’s last double header against Portugal and Poland to ITVX but has decided not to sell to another broadcaster for this round of fixtures.
BBC Scotland had been close to agreeing a deal on the last round of fixtures before a deal was struck with ITVX.
Viaplay declined to confirm if future matches would be sub-contracted to other broadcasters,
A spokesperson said: “The games will be made available on YouTube. As you might understand we cannot comment any further on any potential negotiations.”
The last time a Scotland match wasn’t available on linear television was a friendly match against Poland in 2014.
Passionate time
Scotland’s housing minister Paul McLennan MSP, a member of the Tartan Army, said he was “concerned” about the matches not being shown on TV.
He said: “One of the big issues is making sure that the fans can watch Scotland on terrestrial TV as much as they possibly can.
“I get to as many home games as I can, get to some away games but actually watching Scotland is a really passionate time.”
Scotland are set to welcome Croatia to Hampden to 15 November before playing in Poland on 18 November.
BBC Scotland and ITV have been asked for comment.
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