EXCLUSIVE | Stephen Thompson draws parallels between he & Conor McGregor’s styles

Top ranked welterweight Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is undoubtably one of the best strikers in the UFC. In addition to an impressive professional MMA record that has seen him KO/TKO numerous opponents with highlight reel strikes, including his wheel kick knockout of Jake Ellenberger, Thompson boasts a stunning 57-0 professional kickboxing record that saw him win numerous world championships.

In his last fight, Thompson fought UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the co-main event of UFC 205, the same card where another elite level striker, Conor McGregor, fought.

In a recent episode of BJPenn.com’s Rapid Fire, Thompson spoke about McGregor’s fight with Alvarez at UFC 205:

“I didn’t actually get to see it live. But I saw bits and pieces. Because as it was going on, I was getting stitched up so I couldn’t see it all. I saw the combination he (Conor) was throwing. He is so calm and collective man it is just ridiculous. He has great timing. We fight very similar. You know hands down low, a wide stance, and he just pieced it together very well and executed his game plan perfectly. I thought it was a great fight on his part.”

Thompson then drew some similarities between his style and McGregor’s, saying:

“There are a few, definitely. Especially in regards to his movement. He has great distance management. His wide stance like I said earlier. He also throws a wide variety of kicks. Not the same old stuff that you see other fighters throwing all of the time like the round kicks, roundhouse kicks and front kicks. You know he is working the side kicks, the hook kicks the spin kicks and he knows that not a lot of people are prepared for that. There is not a lot of guys you can find who throw those in the gyms and schools and what not. So yea I do see a lot of similarities. He likes to keep his right side forward, he switches that up every now and again. Not quite as much as I do, but he is definitely exciting.”