If Donald Cerrone needs a dance partner, Stephen Thompson is more than happy to oblige.
“Cowboy” recently returned to the UFC’s drug-testing pool in anticipation of a comeback, with the 41-year-old having retired in 2022. No bout has officially been announced for Cerrone, but Thompson, 42, has previously mentioned his interest in the bout.
On the Overdogs Podcast, “Wonderboy” continued to campaign for the Cerrone matchup.
“My last fight I ended up injuring my elbow,” Thompson said. “I’m not really sure if it was from the elbows that I hit him with, but I got bursitis really bad in my right elbow, so a lot of swelling. You know, that fluid sack in there swelled up real big and it was super sensitive, I don’t know if it was a bone bruise or what. I ended up taking some time off, making sure that’s right, and of course, getting knocked out doesn’t help, so I’ve got to make sure that everything up here is prime before I step back out there. … So maybe I’m thinking April-May time, I think would be cool just because I’m a huge fan of Cerrone and he comes from that old school era that I kind of came from almost 13-14 years ago, so it’s cool that he wants to jump back out there.
“I thought it would be awesome if he doesn’t want to cut the weight to 155, maybe to make that fight at 170, I thought it would be really cool to have two veterans like that step back out there and face off against each other. But nothing booked yet, but that’s what I’m kind of shooting for, that April-May time.”
A fight with Cerrone could be exactly what Thompson needs to get back on the winning track as he is currently mired in a 1-4 slump, with consecutive losses to up-and-coming welterweight contenders Joaquin Buckley and Shavkat Rakhmonov. The kickboxing and karate specialist twice challenged for UFC gold, but has seen inconsistent results since.
Should he and Cerrone be booked for the octagon, Thompson is prepared for Cerrone—owner of 17 submission victories—to mix the martial arts.
“He beat some really good guys on the ground,” Thompson said. “His grappling is on point.”
As for why he’s yet to hang up the gloves himself, Thompson credit his team with helping him to manage his health and preparation. Though his in-cage appearances have become less frequent (Thompson has fought just once a year the past three years), he still feels close to his prime when he makes the walk to the octagon.
“It’s good to have somebody like a manager or a good coach or that father figure or that person in that small circle that you should have to say, ‘Dude, you need to chill. You need to chill out today,’” Thompson said. “You could go over technique, there’s always something you can do, but you can’t push it hard all the time, you have to give your body time to heal up and I think that’s why I’m still 42 in this game.
“I didn’t win my last fight or even the one after that, but we’re still on the grind, we’re not giving up. I think I got it. I feel just as fast as I did 10 years ago, feel just as good, just like riding a bike, but I do spend more time on making sure that the body is feeling right. With massage therapy, the recovery, the ice bath, maybe taking the day off where I’m not grinding that hard. Maybe I’m working just technique and just flowing, giving the body ample time to heal up, and I think that’s crucial.”
