MMA’s Greats of the States | South Carolina: Stephen Thompson

Mixed martial artists come from every corner of the globe, bearing a variety of styles. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring disciplines prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best mixed martial artist of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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Stephen Thompson has established himself as one of the premier competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s deep welterweight class. The Simpsonville, South Carolina, native has twice tried and failed to unseat champion Tyron Woodley at 170 pounds but nevertheless remains part of the division’s upper tier.

Thompson started his formal martial arts training in Kempo karate at the age of 3 before gravitating to other disciplines. He transitioned to MMA in 2010 and arrived in the UFC two years later after winning his first five professional bouts. “Wonderboy” has since gone 8-2-1 inside the Octagon, losing only to the aforementioned Woodley and Matt Brown, both by decision.

The Pride of the Palmetto State, Thompson’s 11-fight run in the UFC includes spectacular finishes on Johny Hendricks, Robert Whittaker, Jake Ellenberger, Chris Clements and Daniel Stittgen, along with decisions wins over Rory MacDonald, Patrick Cote and Nah-Shon Burrell. He last appeared at UFC 209 on March 4, when he wound up on the wrong side of a majority decision against Woodley.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Sara McMann, Justin Scoggins