Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

When I was 15, I fought a guy who was 26 and he was 20-0, undefeated. It was a way for my dad to show me that I was better than I thought. I ended up beating the brakes off this 26-year-old guy. After the fight, the announcer asked my opponent how it felt. He answered, 'I wonder why I stepped in the ring with that boy.'

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Whenever I fight, whenever you see me fight, I work a lot off of angles, using my kicks a lot.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

You can defend a single-leg takedown a little bit easier than you could a double-leg takedown.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

I know I can be the welterweight champion.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Striking is what I do.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Demian Maia, he's a tough, scary guy.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Thank goodness I was blessed with a hard head.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Constantly moving, from side to side. Keeping your opponent guessing. If you stand still long enough, a wrestler is going to shoot for your legs. He's going to see where your legs are at. But, if you keep him constantly guessing, they can't get a bead on those legs. So, constant movement is probably one of the best takedown defenses you could use.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Of course, you've got Lyoto Machida. He's definitely a karate guy and he's made a big presence in MMA. I would say look up Lyoto Machida. There are some other karate guys who are phenomenal at what they do at their karate game, the point fighting game, Raymond Daniels, who is an amazing point fighter and very flashy.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

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.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Matt Brown did exactly what he said he was going to do. He kicked my butt. But it was a war. I would love to do it again. Matt Brown's a good dude and a great fighter. He's made it up to the top and man, he's a monster.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

When you're out there in the octagon and you've got thousands of people, millions across the world, either cheering for you to win or cheering for you to get knocked out, the adrenaline is going, so it doesn't hurt while you're out there. Now fast forward to about an hour and a half to two hours after the fight? Oh yes. It's pretty painful.