Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson has been working with one in every of his former UFC foes from nearly a decade ago.
The 2-time welterweight title challenger is ready to return this weekend within the co-main event of UFC Nashville. There, Thompson will tackle Gabriel Bonfim, a Brazilian fighter with a powerful 17-1 record.
At 42, Thompson is at risk of losing three fights in a row after back-to-back stoppages to the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov and Joaquin Buckley, who KO’ed him last October at UFC 307.
Going up against a submission artist as well-rounded as Bonfim, Thompson prepared for war with a former world champion and rival.
Rory MacDonald joined Stephen Thompson’s training camp for Gabriel Bonfim
Thompson shared the Octagon with Rory MacDonald in June 2016 within the five-round major event of UFC Ottawa. Thompson won by unanimous decision, piecing up MacDonald lower than a 12 months after his all-time five-round war against Robbie Lawler modified his profession without end.
‘Wonderboy’ was MacDonald’s final fight within the UFC. The previous title challenger went on to win the Bellator welterweight championship in 2018 before retiring within the PFL in 2022. MacDonald has wins over Tyron Woodley, BJ Penn, Nate Diaz, Demian Maia and lots of more.
Retired for nearly 3 years now, MacDonald made it to Upstate Karate in South Carolina to assist Thompson in his latest training camp for Bonfim at UFC Nashville.
“OG’s,” Thompson said of coaching along with his former foe MacDonald.
“Thanks Rory to your amazing help and insight for Wonderboy’s next fight!” Thompson’s head coach and father, Ray, wrote on Instagram.
“Legends,” Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch said of the collab.
“Red King! It’s so good to see him still training,” one fan said of MacDonald.
While MacDonald has been training with Thompson, the retired UFC star recently mentioned he has no intentions of a UFC return.
Rory MacDonald was one in every of the primary UFC stars to coach MMA exclusively
Thompson continues to be one in every of the UFC’s best strikers today, but times are changing in MMA.
Once a karate specialist, almost no person could work out, Thompson has struggled against grapplers and well-rounded fighters lately.
“From once I began the sport is evolving yearly. I step out, everybody’s getting good,” Thompson said at UFC Nashville media day.
“In every single place. I come from an era of just specialists where you had the striking specialist in Anderson Silva, you had the jiu-jitsu specialist in Demian Maia…
In an era of specialists, Thompson remembers there was a time when MacDonald was touted to be a future world champion. The Canadian trained MMA exclusively as a youngster and under the tutelage of Georges St-Pierre’s coach Firas Zahabi, MacDonald became a whole, high-level fighter.
“I remember back within the day, all of the talk was Rory MacDonald and the way good he was all over the place,” Thompson said.
“[Now] everybody’s good all over the place. It’s not only one or two people.
“I’m still playing catch-up,” Thompson said at 42.