UFC Star Wonderboy Thompson Shares Secrets for Fighting Into His 40s
LONGEVITY IN ANY field is incredibly difficult to achieve. For athletes, maintaining peak performance is even more rare, especially for individual sports. There are exceptions – and among them is 41-year-old Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, who is still thriving as a UFC fighter.
A lifelong martial artist trained by his father, Ray, Thompson started fighting young. Before making his professional MMA (mixed marital arts) debut in 2010, he accumulated a perfect 57-0 kickboxing record. He first fought in the UFC in 2012 against Dan Stittgen, knocking him out and winning the “Knockout of The Night” cash bonus, and has since entered the Octagon 21 times. Currently, Thompson is ranked number nine in the UFC’s welterweight division and has a record of 17-7-1.
The next time Thompson fights will be on October 5. His opponent: rising contender, Joaquin Buckley, a 30-year-old welterweight on a four-fight winning streak and winner of the World MMA Awards Knockout of the Year in 2020.
We caught up with Thompson ahead of his fight at UFC 307 to learn more about his decades-long approach to training and fight camp. Some aspects of his prep have changed dramatically (read: he’s working on his grappling); other elements of his fight camp, like his diet, have remained mostly untouched. With age comes experience and wisdom, so keep reading for more insight from MMA’s Wonderboy.
MH: What does your camp look like for your upcoming fight against Joaquin Buckley?
STEPHEN 'WONDERBOY' THOMPSON: There are so many guys who only train whenever they have fights coming up. I'm training constantly, always trying to evolve and get better. I found out I was fighting Buckley in late July. Usually, before a training camp, I’ll get with all of my coaches, and we’ll figure out times during the day that I can work with each.
I usually train two to three times a day. Today, I have strength and conditioning from 10 to 11, and then mitt work from 11 to noon. A lot of this camp, my last few camps, have been focused on my wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu… I’m kind of playing catch-up there.
MH: What’s the main difference between your training in camp versus out of camp?
ST: Frequency. When I'm not in camp, I usually train one or maybe two times a day. The mindset is mostly different. I want my mindset in camp to be focused on what I need to get done during sparring sessions – what combinations I want to land, what I don’t want to get hit by, and we always go back to watch film… usually from my opponent’s earliest fights to their most recent to see how much they’ve changed. A lot of guys don’t change. Joaquin has gotten a lot better.
MH: You’re 41 years old. How has your approach to training changed from when you made your UFC debut in 2012?
ST: By listening to my body and taking care of my body more when it comes to physical therapy and massage therapy. I have a physical therapist that I see weekly. I don't miss any training sessions, but if I do come in and I'm like, man, I'm fatigued, I still train, but not as intensely. It could be skill work, watching film, a little bit of mitt work, things like that. I also don't spar as hard as I used to, which I believe has helped with the longevity of my career. My training partners push me but don’t try to hurt me.
MH: What about your diet?
ST: I don’t have a sweet tooth and I don’t like junk food. I watch what I eat, which helps me keep my weight down. It’s always been that way. The heaviest I get outside of camp is like 200 pounds [Thompson has to weigh in at 170 pounds before he fights].
I’ll do three-day fasts every two to three months, drinking only juice and water. That helps get all the toxins out of my body and boosts my testosterone. Of course, you can’t do that during camp because you’re training and you need fuel. In camp, I’ll reduce how much I eat but eat more often throughout the day.
MH: Cutting weight before the fight is a notoriously difficult process. What does that look like for you now?
ST: I usually show up on Tuesday of fight week weighing 185 pounds. By Thursday night, when I start the cut, I weigh 178 pounds. When I first started, nobody knew what they were doing, and we all just suffered. I’d sit in a sauna for eight hours with Skittles in my mouth, trying to spit, feeling like I was dying. Then I’d [apply] Albolene [makeup remover, which opens up the pores], put on a sweat suit, and hit a two-and-a-half hour workout.
Now, I get in the sauna blanket and lie there watching TV for a few hours, spending no energy, and getting down that way. It’s easy, and I feel amazing. I’ll get up Friday morning, weighing about 171, and then shadow box.
MH: If you could give your younger self a piece of training advice. What would it be?
ST: I wish I focused more on my grappling. Early in my kickboxing career, I had no idea I would be an MMA fighter, so I put grappling on the back burner. Right now, the division has Belal [Muhammad] and Gilbert [Burns], who have been grappling their entire lives, and it’s really difficult to deal with. I know how to stop takedown A, B, and C, but these guys go from A to B to C to D to E to F. I can’t keep up, so it’s one of those things I’m still learning but wish I had learned earlier.
MH: Do you remember what you spent your first big check on?
ST: I was getting paid $6,000 to show and $6,000 to win, but I won the $65,000 bonus. Before I knew it, three months went by and that money was gone. Training camp is expensive. You have to pay your coaches, management, and teammates. After all that, I decorated my apartment and bought a bed.
MH: So… how has your money management evolved?
ST: Conor McGregor and I have the same management – Paradigm Sports. And you know you’ve got good management when they’re trying to help you make money and save it. The UFC [will] have summits where they bring fighters out, and they teach you how to manage your money, how to pay your taxes, all this stuff you’re not learning in school. Also, my mom and dad have been running businesses for 50-something years; they know how to manage money and I get great advice from them.
MH: Outside of the combat, in what other ways have you seen the sport change in the last decade?
ST: When I came up, you only got a shot at the title if you earned it. Now, if you have a little pull on social media and get some people behind you, you could have one fight and then fight for the title.
That’s also a part of the business that a lot of people don’t really see when it comes to the fight game: building your social media to expand, not just right now but in the future, too. So, when I retire, I can still do stuff on my social media [Thompson has 500,00 subscribers on his YouTube channel and 1 million followers on Instagram].
It’s every day. We’re working Sundays, man. We just bought a shipping container and soundproofed it, which is where we'll do all of our podcasts and fight breakdowns. It’s a full-on business – and business is booming. Either you have to be social media savvy, or you have to find somebody who can do it for you. And thank goodness I have a brother, Sweet T, who is super good at it.
MH: Have you considered what you’ll do after you retire from fighting competitively?
ST: I have several things that I’m backing up on, but the main thing is our gym [Upstate Karate in Greenville, SC, which Thompson runs with his father and brother]. Seeing people come in with low self-esteem or overweight, but when they leave that first class with a smile, and you see the changes they make, knowing that I had something to do with it makes all the difference in the world.
I want to have something I can lean on, different revenue streams. The karate academy, the UFC, YouTube, and properties. I’ve got several duplexes that I own that are making me money left and right, which I want to get more into. I would love to do some commentating – I love breaking down fights. I was also in Cobra Kai, and we’re looking at maybe the One Piece live-action TV show.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length
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