Stephen Thompson has issued a statement following his controversial defeat at UFC Nashville.
‘Wonderboy’ squared off against rising welterweight star Gabriel Bonfim in Saturday night’s co-main event.
The 42-year-old MMA legend suffered a nasty cut to his shin after checking a kick in round two.
After 15 minutes of action, Stephen Thompson appeared to have done enough to get the win, but he ended up suffering a controversial defeat as two of the three cageside judges scored the fight 29-28 for Bonfim.
Stephen Thompson reacts to UFC Nashville loss
A couple of hours after his latest fight, Thompson took to social media to speak to his fans.
The former two-time welterweight title challenger was using crutches during his Instagram speech.
“First and foremost, I wanna thank all my fans for coming out,” Thompson said.
“Your love and support was amazing out there tonight. I really do appreciate it. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to perform in front of you guys.
“I’ve gotta get back, heal my shin up, and maybe do some more shin conditioning.”
‘Wonderboy’ used the caption to expand on his message, he wrote: “Nashville, you are amazing!
“To my fans, I love y’all!! Thank you for your love and support always. Pops, @raythompson, thank you for always being in my corner, love you! @westinwilson , @strainbjj , @reynolds_power32 & everyone at @teampitchblack & @upstate_karate thank you for all of your help for this fight camp. I felt great out there.
“Thank you to my team @paradigmsports for always taking care of me! Also, shout out to the UFC Docs for stitching me up! Shin is split to the bone so time to focus on healing up!”
Stephen Thompson targets UFC record
Thompson is the oldest fighter currently on the roster, but he’s shown no interest in retiring.
In fact, he recently suggested that his MMA career may continue for at least five more years.
Stephen Thompson is targeting Randy Couture‘s record as the oldest UFC fighter, after watching ‘The Natural’ compete in the Octagon until he was 47 years old.
“It would be cool to beat Randy Couture’s record,” he admitted ahead of UFC Nashville.
“It would be cool, but I’ve got two fights left, man, and we’re gonna see them through, gonna honor them, and we’ll go out there and win these next two fights in great fashion and see if we’ll keep going.
“It depends on what the UFC wants to do, for sure. God forbid that if it doesn’t, I’ve got other routes that I can take.”
