The octagonal return of Stephen Thompson ended in another defeat after he had sustained a horrible injury against Gabriel Bonfim in UFC Nashville tonight.
The fan favorite karate expert had struggled in recent years and had four defeats in his last five, including two consecutive stop settlements. However, with losses against Shavkat Rakhmonov, Joaquin Buckley and even former champion Belal Muhammad, he was still at the highest level.
Bonfim was a remarkable step down and his first non -anchored opponent had been for years, but seemed the challenge that his other opponents had been in recent years. And he took a controversial split decision after a horror injury in the second round
Stephen Thompson vs Gabriel Bonfim UFC Nashville Result
Stephen Thompson's stubborn D 'Wonderboy' Walkout went downstairs and once with the Rowdy Nashville -Mixte. The Bridgestone Arena -believers were treated from the start to a series of large fights, knock -outs and memorable moments and expected even more from a top striker like Thompson.
Gabriel Bonfim went for the main leg in the opening changes with his stairs, while the 42-year-old was moving around the cage for the time being. Eventually the Brazilian lap shot half a round for his first Takedown and managed to get Thompson down after taking the back.
After Bonfim went a rear naked choke, Thompson got out and even tried to struggle a little before they met on the feet. There the Brazilian landed a large counter that demonstrably won the openingstanza.
While the couple was involved at the beginning of the second, 'Wonderboy' cavities from the Arena broke. The second was not so different from the first with few large shots of landing to a large head kick from Thompson who started to find something of a rhythm.
In the last seconds of round two, Thompson's shin was poorly cut when he had checked a staircase. But he then landed two head kicks that stunned bonfire with the wounded leg, almost a beautiful finish.
At the beginning of the second, Bonfim began to focus on that shin of Thompson, who had opened itself completely and bleed abundantly. With two minutes to go, the Brazilian ate a clean headkick and shot back and landed a Takedown that made the Nashville audience furious.
Eventually Bonfim got the nod on a split decision with two jury members who gave him the 29-28 scorecards and one who goes for Thompson with the same score. Fans were furious about the result and the winner even made sure that his rival jumped him in the cage in the celebration after the fight.
Stephen Thompson entered UFC Nashville as the oldest hunter of the promotion
Wonderboy celebrated his 42nd birthday in February, and when Vic Pichel retired earlier this year, he took over the crown as the oldest hunter of the promotion. Nevertheless, he still looked in peak physical condition and he was probably able to pass by for decades younger than his real age.
On the way to Saturday's fight, Thompson's last victory was almost three years old. In December 2022 he rolled back the years and did a vintage performance against Kevin Holland, who was forced out of the fight after the fourth.
Since then he was choked in the second round by the unbeaten Rakhmonov before he was eliminated by Buckley for the second time in his career. His only other Ko's defeat was in 2019 when Anthony Pettis was surprised by the world with a knockout victory at the same location in Nashville.