Anyone else find Stephen Thompson barely watchable nowadays?

[Venom]

Yes I appreciate highly technical fighters, And his style on paper looks like it would make for fireworks every fight, but he's been so damn tentative in all his bouts the past few years, even against primarily standup fighters. I can't remember off the top a replayable fight he's had since I joined the forums, save for maybe his KO loss at the hands of Anthony Pettis.

Guy only looks good when he's facing shorter, flatfooted standup opponents. If you offer the slightest bit of forward pressure, he's throwing three, four strikes a round. It's become painful to watch.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

He has always been like that, he is exciting if his opponent is willing to play his game. If they aren't he will just stand in front of them, he plays it extremely safe.

 

[WishFufilled]

Dudes old and past it. He arguably beat Woodley though.

 

[Slatersan]

I was burnt out on him after the woodley fights

 

[Brodie]

Nah

The Gilbert fight sucked, but his performances against Neal and Luque were enjoyable imo.

 

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

All depends on what you watch for.

Metaphor: most baseball fans only or mostly like the dingers. Some "hard core" fans appreciate about 40 other aspects of the game.

Baseball (nor MMA) could never survive in today's world by pleasing only the hard core fans. So they try to increase hitting (and barnburners). But that doesn't mean the masses are "right".

TLDR: He is not always classically "entertaining", unless you're entertained the subtleties of the game.

 

[fortheo]

I've never been a huge fan, but i don't feel the need to shit on him either. He's had great performances and he's had some lackluster performances. Regardless, he's one of the best welterweights from the last ten years. Guys like him and Maia have my respect, despite the fact that their fights can become very frustrating when things don't go their way.

 

[chrisdiaz]

The guy is martial artisit in every sense of the word. He is not a fighter. I wouldnt even call him a point fighter. He doesnt have the drive or desire to actually inflict damage. If you dont have this, its really hard to be at the top. I would say this was Rorys biggest issue as well.

 

[TryggeTryggvar]

He has always been like that, he is exciting if his opponent is willing to play his game. If they aren't he will just stand in front of them, he plays it extremely safe.

Nah

The Gilbert fight sucked, but his performances against Neal and Luque were enjoyable imo.

This in a nutshell.

He can be really exciting but he is also really safe at times.

 

[Dreyga_King of Sherbums]

I hate fans like this. Treating every fighter as if only as good has their last fight.

THE MAN HAS SEVEN PERFORMANCE BONUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MULTIPLE HIGHLIGHT REAL KO'S!!!!

Yes, this Gilbert one was boring but almost everyone of his fights is fun striking clinic. No one has a burn burner every single time they go out.


Some of ya'll set unrealistic standards... Wonderboy's recent fights with Neal, Luque, and Pettis were all fun and action packed from bell to bell.

 

[Qays Stetkevich]

Yes I appreciate highly technical fighters, And his style on paper looks like it would make for fireworks every fight, but he's been so damn tentative in all his bouts the past few years, even against primarily standup fighters. I can't remember off the top a replayable fight he's had since I joined the forums, save for maybe his KO loss at the hands of Anthony Pettis.

Guy only looks good when he's facing shorter, flatfooted standup opponents. If you offer the slightest bit of forward pressure, he's throwing three, four strikes a round. It's become painful to watch.

IF he could just go 80% guns blazing, he'd be so fun. Unfortunately, he's either going to retire or become *even* more tentative with his offense out of fear of the takedown now. Bummer, because as you say, his offense *can/could* be brutal.

 

[Nightgunner05]

The Woodley fights made me a Wonderboy hater for life. In all my years of watching MMA, I’ve never seen a more boring performance. Thank goodness he lost against Burns.

 

[Phisher]

Nah

The Gilbert fight sucked, but his performances against Neal and Luque were enjoyable imo.

Didn't like the Neal fight. It was the same 2-3 exchanges in a loop.

The Luque fight, however, was amazing. Although, that was down to the fact that Luque has a granite chin and was willing to pressure the shit out of WB to try to make something happen.

I hate fans like this. Treating every fighter as if only as good has their last fight.

THE MAN HAS SEVEN PERFORMANCE BONUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MULTIPLE HIGHLIGHT REAL KO'S!!!!

Yes, this Gilbert one was boring but almost everyone of his fights is fun striking clinic. No one has a burn burner every single time they go out.


Some of ya'll set unrealistic standards... Wonderboy's recent fights with Neal, Luque, and Pettis were all fun and action packed from bell to bell.

He hasn't finished a fight in five years. Also, his big finishes were over green Whittaker and totally shot versions of Ellenberger and Hendricks.

 

[Serge421]

The Luque fight was pretty crazy

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

He’s become kinda Karo parysian like in that everyone watches him for flashy moments that are becoming increasingly few and far between

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

He'll always have my respect for those big wins in his first run, especially KTFO'ing Whittaker and destroying Fatboy Hendricks. But I feel like Woodley took the fight out of him.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

He is way too tentative and hesitant for my liking, I get that he is technical and all that fluff, but there comes a point where its hurting himself, and I feel its hurt him over his UFC career, some of the fights if he had actually thrown anything he may have reversed some of the 29-28 decisions

 

[Anialater]

Never. He will always be my boy.

 

[ralphus1]

He’s become kinda Karo parysian like in that everyone watches him for flashy moments that are becoming increasingly few and far between

I was going to say 'Anthony Pettis', but Karo works too.

 

[DS66]

Man people have such a short memory. He beat the fuck out of two supposedly great strikers (Luque and Neal) for 40 mins combined in the previous two fights before the Burns fight. It was an absolute striking masterclass in both fights. He wasn't tentative at all, he threw and landed frequently and rightly got performance bonuses in both fights.

Sure the Burns fight wasn't great, but most of that was due to Burns' grappling heavy approach (which I don't blame him for at all, that was his only way to beat Wonderboy and he executed it effectively). Wonderboy is a true martial artist and one of the best pure strikers in the UFC's history, and he deserves a ton of respect for what he's accomplished.