Early career in kickboxing
Thompson's father, Ray, is his trainer and manager.
As an amateur kickboxer Thompson amassed 16 titles and finished his career with a record of 37 wins, 18 by knockout and no losses. [19]
He turned professional on May 15, 2004 against Kadir Kadri who he defeated by knockout in the fifth round. [20]
On December 14, 2004 Thompson traveled to Montreal, Canada to face Eric Boudreau at "La renaissance du Kickboxing" event. He won the fight by technical knockout in the fifth round. [21]
On May 21, 2005 Thompson rematched Kadir Kadri at Martial Arts May-Hem 05 in Greenville, South Carolina. He won the fight by unanimous decision. [22]
On September 3, 2005 Thompson faced Freddie Espiricueta at the APEX – Undisputed event in Montreal, Canada. Thompson won the fight by technical knockout in the third round. [23]
Thompson has also been featured in Martial Arts Digest magazine, Fighter magazine, and MMA Authority magazine.
Thompson has performed along with his father at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in the “Athletes Project”, and has appeared in several TV commercials.
In 2006, Thompson joined the newly created World Combat League. He went undefeated during that year earning wins over opponents such as Antoine McRae, Armin Mrkanovic, James DeCore, Tim Williams and Carlos Tearney. [24] He was the #1 ranked fighter in World Combat League at the end of 2006.
On January 20, 2007 Thompson fought Raymond Daniels in a highly anticipated bout. [25] [26] Thompson lost the bout by technical knockout due to a knee injury he suffered that left him unable to continue. [27] However, this was later overturned into a no contest. [28]
During his recovery Thompson chose to transition from kickboxing to professional mixed martial arts.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
2012
Thompson was expected to face Justin Edwards on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143, replacing an injured Mike Stumpf. [29] However, Edwards was forced out with an injury and replaced by Dan Stittgen. [30] Thompson won the fight via KO in the first round after landing a flush head kick. [31] For his performance, Thompson was awarded Knockout of the Night honors. [32]
Thompson lost to Matt Brown on April 21, 2012, at UFC 145 via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–27, and 30–27). [33] [34]
Thompson was expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154. [35] However, Thompson was forced out of the bout with a knee injury and replaced by Matthew Riddle. [36]
2013
Thompson was expected to face Amir Sadollah on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160. [37] However, Sadollah pulled out of the bout, citing an injury, and he was replaced by Nah-Shon Burrell. [38] Thompson won the fight via unanimous decision. [39]
Thompson next faced Chris Clements on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165. [40] After dropping Clements twice, Thompson won the fight via knockout in the second round. [41]
2014
Thompson faced future UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170. [42] Thompson won the bout via first-round technical knockout. [43] The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award. [44]
Thompson faced Patrick Côté on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. [45] Despite knocking Côté down in the third round and almost finishing the bout, Thompson ultimately won the fight via unanimous decision. [46]
2016
Thompson was expected to face Neil Magny on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195. [52] However, Magny was tabbed as an injury replacement for Matt Brown and instead faced Kelvin Gastelum on November 21, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. [53] In turn, Thompson was removed from the card and rebooked to face former champion Johny Hendricks on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. [54] He won the bout via TKO in the first round. [55] The win also earned Thompson his third Performance of the Night bonus award. [56]
Thompson next faced Rory MacDonald on June 18, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89. [57] He won the fight via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, and 48–47). [58]
Thompson fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 205, where he faced reigning champion Tyron Woodley. [59] The fight ended in a majority draw with two judges scoring the fight 47–47 and the third 48–47 in favor of Woodley. However, there was some confusion as the result was initially announced as a split decision victory for Woodley only to be corrected moments later when the decision of a majority draw was announced, albeit with the same result of Woodley remaining champion. [60] Subsequently, both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night bonus awards. [61] UFC President Dana White stated that he expected that a rematch would be next for each fighter. [62]
2017
The rematch with Woodley took place on March 4, 2017, in the main event at UFC 209. [63] Thompson lost the bout by majority decision (48–47, 47–47, and 48–47). In a sample of 19 media pundits scoring the fight, five scored it in favor of Woodley, six scored in favor of Thompson, and eight scored it a draw. [64]
Thompson faced Jorge Masvidal on November 4, 2017 at UFC 217. [65] He won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, and 30–27). [66]
2018
As the first bout of his new multi-fight contract, Thompson faced Darren Till on May 27, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130. [67] [68] At the weigh-ins, Till weighed in at 174.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit of 171. After negotiating with Thompson's team, the bout proceeded at a catchweight, with the stipulation that Till could not weigh more than 188 pounds on the day of the fight. Till also forfeited 30 percent of his purse to Thompson. [69] Thompson lost the bout via unanimous decision (48–47, 49–46, and 49–46). [70] Conversely, 22 of 25 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Thompson. [71]
2019
Thompson faced former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 148 on March 23, 2019. [72] Despite outstriking Pettis for most of the bout, he lost the fight via knockout in the second round, marking the first time that Thompson had been stopped in MMA or kickboxing competition. [73]
Thompson faced Vicente Luque on November 2, 2019 at UFC 244. [74] He won the fight via unanimous decision. [75] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. [76]
2023
Thompson was scheduled to face Michel Pereira at UFC 291 on July 29, 2023. [88] However, at the weigh-ins, Pereira weighed at 174 pounds, 3 pounds over the non-title welterweight limit. As a result, the bout was scrapped. [89]
Thompson faced Shavkat Rakhmonov on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. [90] He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. [91]
