Top 55 Stephen Thompson Quotes

Of course I’ve been called everything; Wonder Wonder Woman, Wonder Bra, Wonder Bread.

I wouldn’t say I’m the best MMA fighter but I’m working on it every day and I’m getting better and better.

My dad grew up in a little place near Charleston called Moncks Corner.

I love Montreal. I love the people, I love the history.

I’m a martial artist. That’s what I’ve been doing since I was three years old, and fighting since i was 15 and that’s all I know how to do. The money is just a bonus. It’s a bonus for me. I think my real job is teaching martial arts, it’s what I love to do.

Nobody wants to see Thompson vs. Woodley 3, and I kind of understood that.

I know what martial arts have done for me. They’ve taught me integrity, self-control, perseverance and an indomitable spirit.

Demian Maia, he’s a tough, scary guy.

Everyone in the UFC is good. If you’re at the lowest end or the highest end, you have a chance to get knocked out and put to sleep.

Everybody asks me, ‘Hey, what’s your most memorable fight?’ For me, it’s definitely the Matt Brown fight.

Crap happens, you know? It happens, especially when you’re in this sport long enough.

Robert Whittaker is definitely a different fighter from when I fought him last. His takedown defense is ridiculous – ridiculous – and his cardio is out there. Like, the guy does not get tired.

The average MMA guys have a boxer’s stance which makes it easier for a wrestler when they try and take you down. I tend to stand sideways and that gives them only one leg to shoot for, it tends to make it more difficult to try and take me down.

You know I tore my MCL in the fight with Till. We did an MRI and thankfully nothing else was damaged.

You never know what the UFC’s going to bring.

Ben Askren, he’s a tough boy. Golly, he’s a tough boy. That’s what wrestling does. When you wrestle your whole life, you got to be a tough dude to wrestle.

Magny is a dangerous guy. He’s a good fighter.

If you see my fights with Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks and Rory MacDonald, I went out there and just had fun.

Elvis was a seventh-degree black belt in karate. My dad knew that he couldn’t dance like Elvis or sing like him, but he thought maybe he could try karate, and he fell in love with it.

A lot of people think martial arts are just fighting, but it’s character-building, too, and I want to give back.

Anybody who fights McGregor is going to have a good payday. He’s one of the best guys in the UFC.

I’m constantly working my wrestling and jiu-jitsu, which is going to make me more confident in the Octagon.

Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve got to go out there and grit your teeth and just throw.’ That’s never been my style, but I think I need to be a little bit more aggressive instead of counterpunching.

No matter how much it hurts, you gotta stay focused on what you’re there for and your goals, just don’t give up.

I spent some time with Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida when they were training at Blackhouse in California. This was before I was in the UFC.

I just want to be able to say I fought the best fighters in the world.

Thank goodness I was blessed with a hard head.

I do respect everybody who I step in the Octagon with.

Kamaru Usman is a great champion.

As a fighter my goal is not to get hit and frustrate my opponent. Once I get you frustrated then I got you.

You just have to put in the work. Work really hard, get a good coach and a good gym. You have to have the right mindset to be a champion. Don’t make excuses on going to the gym like your ankle is sore or what.

I’ve been fighting since I was 15 years old, so I’ve had pretty much everything that could be said, said to me.

I’m going to give it my all to get that title. And whether I make it or not, I’ll know I’ve competed with the best. And that’s enough for me.

I’ve never really had any beef with anybody yet, so I think that’s a good thing.

Everybody wants to see somebody get knocked out. I’m sorry but it’s the fight game and that’s what they want to see.

I was like ‘You know what? I’m training with these champions. Guys like Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt… Let me give this MMA thing a shot.’

I’ve had many fights, but this is the biggest stage I’ve ever fought in. The UFC is the best.

People always ask me what will happen if I lose, and I never really thought about it until they asked me.

I’m a striker.

I try my best not to get hit. I don’t like getting hit.

In kickboxing, if I walked around at 185 pounds, I fought at 185 pounds.

I understand it’s part of the sport, part of the game to have people who like you and people who don’t.

A lot of people look down on people who are successful, but Conor McGregor is successful because he runs his mouth and he knows how to put on a show. I mean, look at his press conferences. I mean, come on. People show up just to see him just act nuts. Hats off to that guy, he’s a very intelligent, very smart guy.

Conor has taken the UFC to a whole new level. It’s his whole demeanor that appeals to me. He’s a fighter, he’s a Viking, and on top of that, he’s got the gift of gab.

You see this with fighters all the time, if you’re not staying active, you’re kinda put on the shelf a little bit.

Ben Askren, he is a very strong wrestler, probably the best in the division, I think. But then again, when you’re in the fight game like this, some of the other things you have to improve. It can’t just be wrestling all the time. You got to continue to work on your striking, get better at that.

If I do lose, it will just give me a stronger drive to train harder.

Taekwondo, those are some major kickers right there. That’s what they bring. That’s all they do is the kicks. They don’t have the punching and the ground but it’s more of a kicking art than anything.

If I started talking trash right now, people would just tell me to shut up, ‘That’s not you, Stephen – be quiet!’

I’ve known guys who’ve got knocked out and they get back in there too soon, next thing you know they get clipped and they’re out again.

During the fight, if you feel something, you know it’s pretty bad, because normally you don’t feel anything. You get punched and elbowed in the face, you don’t feel it until after the fight.

Everybody asks ‘would you fight Conor McGregor?’ – of course I’d fight Conor McGregor but it’s not because of the money. It’s because he’s such a huge martial artist and everybody considers themselves the best if you fight Conor McGregor, if you beat Conor McGregor. I look at it like that.

Striking is what I do.

I believed I could knock out Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger, and sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, but I know I can knock these guys out.

Movement is everything when it comes to the fight game.