Stephen Thompson plans to adjust fighting style after procession of close fights

If you look at Stephen Thompson’s recent record, you will see he’s recently fought Tyron Woodley to a draw, given up a decision in a rematch with Woodley, and given up a decision to Darren Till. In the eyes of some fans — and of course Thompson’s team — he should have won all of those fights.

In order to avoid disappointing judges’ decisions going forward, Thompson says he plans to adjust his fighting style in an effort to improve his chances of scoring a stoppage.

“That’s something I talked about with my pops right after this last fight,” Thompson told MMAjunkie this week. “There’s always something you can work on, but just change some stuff up. Work different techniques that I’ve been wanting to work on a whole lot more, than I don’t usually throw when I fight. Just to keep them guessing. My last few losses were controversial. I’ve got to do more. I can’t leave it in the judge’s hands anymore.”

“Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve got to go out there and grit your teeth and just throw,’” Thompson added. “That’s never been my style, but I think I need to be a little bit more aggressive instead of counterpunching. There are other parts of the game I can go work on to keep my opponent guessing. Everyone I fight in the future is going to be like, ‘All right, he doesn’t do too well with guys that aggressive.’ There are going to be different techniques we can work on so we don’t leave it in the judge’s hands. I know I can say that, but I’ve just got to go out there and I can’t make it close anymore.”

Do you think a slight style change will help Stephen Thompson capture the W in competitive fights going forward? Join the conversation in the comments section below!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/28/2018.