Stephen Thompson's karate masterclass against Vicente Luque
Stephen Randall Thompson
Wonderboy
American
MMA Record 17-6-1
Welterweight
Height 6'
Reach 75'
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About: Masterclass series; highlighting a fighters certain fight/performance that was remarkable.
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Thank You !
Dang man you’re just gonna start the video like THAT?! Lol
Sorry man just wanted to show the backstory 😄 made his win even more impressive
@@MartialLiam your channel is awesome man!! Love watching your stuff
🤨
Hi sensei seth sorry about the self defense championships
Karate ftw
It is insane how much he lands without really feinting at all. So impressive.
I think it's the footwork, timing, and the fact he might be the fastest welterweight
Constant stance switching, insane timing and a massive arsenal of techniques made him so unpredictable
its the editing yall dum af😂😂
@@TripleEightss then why did luque say he couldn’t keep up with him ?😂
@@justinjasper03 .. because he was feinting
How can u not respect wonderboy??? A great martial artist and an even better person!
Why is this even a comment? Lol Like, wonderboy was NEVER someone to not respect or even someone to dislike. People always gave him his due credit and respect.
@@steverogers7601 Is it better, or worse, when the nicest guy at church can kick the crap out of you?
Well his 2 fights against Woodley didn't command much respect!
@dfasht Also, we shouldn't pretend like Woodley wasn't a world class wrestler and fighter. He was also significantly heavier than Thompson and he managed two truly dangerous weight cuts to pull off his victories.
@dfasht Well, I need to give credit where credit is due. Woodley was a *MONSTER* at that time. It was Wonderboy's rotten luck to fight against a very intelligent wrestler who knew exactly who Thompson was and how to counter him. And he *DID!* In Woodley's defense, he stopped tip-top Prime Wonderboy. Twice. With very intelligent, patient, smart counters.... And by being 50 pounds over the weight and cutting to an insane degree. I'm not disrespecting Woodley for doing that, by the way. It's a strategy. That strategy worked. I'll give credit where credit is due. And I don't like Woodley. I quite like Thompson. It's okay when ya boy loses, ya know?
Lyoto Machida and Wonderboy really proved how effective karate is at a high level of combat.
It's not that effective, that's why theres only like 2 guys to ever do it well, you learn way more effective striking in kickboxing, and mma prioritizes boxing and wrestling because they are the most effective fighting styles for everyone, sure karate's great but you have to be a master at it for it be beat out other styles
@@isopropyltoxicity god, you donuts need reading comprehension badly.
Not really true it can be very effective just most fighters like to grapple or use wrestling. Machida used to fuck ppl up in his fights even when he fought John jones he was beating his ass pretty much the whole 1st round and John happened to catch him in the 2nd
When your switching stances so much changing angles it hard to tell how and when someone.is.going to strike with karate and most fighters only really kick when it's a leg kick he literally kicked dude off his feet 3 times
@@isopropyltoxicity that has more to do with the karate crowd. when i was doing karate in the early 2000s people hated mma for the most part and the mma crowd thought karate was for nerds. most people doing karate arent looking at mma as a career option. two different worlds for the most part.
Wonderboy is definitely my favourite striker in the UFC. It's nice to see traditional martial arts having a place in the UFC.
Yes. In fact I wish he had used leg kicks and top-bottom combinations even more. But understandably he was being more conservative in his approach. This was a great display though.
Luque was also no joke in this fight, he was an absolute Tank and his boxing is pretty dangerous, it's just that Wonderboy is on another level, he's a top 10 Striker in the UFC, I'd say top 5 even.
Definitely the best striker in the welterweight division
@@someguy7474Nick Diaz vs Wonderboy?
@@travonaqw nick gets slaughtered on the feet , on the ground is interesting tho
@@travonaqw luque Thompson amd Masvidal are up there in the 170. Till could've done more
Who is a better striker in the ufc than wonderboy?
For a guy who keeps his HANDS DOWN 90% of the time ... he sure is a formidable enemy .. Wonderboy is a very disciplined technical master ❤🎉
He gets away with it because it’s MMA, but that’s not to discount his GREAT distance management and range control.
@@steverogers7601 he was a world class kickboxer/karate fighter too
I think one of the biggest reasons Wonderboy is still sharp and doesn't look like a slow and completely out of prime fighter(not talking about his Grappling which looks terrible)is because he's always been a master at range/distance control so he hasn't taken anywhere near the damage that fighters at his age have taken, I genuinely think that's a big part of why he looks pretty cool still.(I mean this Luque fight was years ago but I'm talking in general)
I saw him live vs Holland and I was truly impressed. He's a lot faster, smooth and snappy when you watch him live even at close to 40
Fighters who are more technical tend to age and still be competitive, Aldo, Jones, Wonderboy. Unorthodox ones suffer the most, Tony Ferguson for example
@@thiagoakira697Sadly to be unorthodox you need natural athleticism, dexterity, and a good chin, all of which go down significantly with age
Found the "grappling" expert lol
Yeah I would say most of it is hard work, dedication,diet, sobriety and genuine love for the sport.
This was a crazy fight. Luque won the first, Wonderboy felt the urgency and convincingly won the second and third, with 2 broken hands against a determined Luque who kept throwing hard.
mad respect to luque for still being so present in the fight that he throws that wheel kick at the very last second. even after all that bloodshed, he was still firing every shot with intent, up til the buzzer.
It's very interesting to watch sports karate style of fighting being applied in UFC. The longer stances, the quick strikes with retreat/evade, lower guards, straight punches/less hooks, the bounce in his stance.
That dude can take a beating and keep on ticking! Wow! He ate so many punches right to the face and still stayed on his feet. Props to him. Wonder Boy was having a field day on his face.
If Leon Edwards had been champ earlier we may have seen Thompson v Edwards... We might still see it if Leon can defend the belt and Thompson can get a couple of wins. I bet it would be a compelling fight
Leona definitely gonna try to wrestle assuming wonderboy hasn’t slowed considerably by then
Both of their TDD is good so it's highly likely to be a technical kickboxing match. Where Stephen ideally would be landing large amounts of volume like he does. However I predict Leon's strategy being to spam body and especially leg kicks as he did with Kamaru 2. This could stop Stephens ability to work.
Leon would win an uneventful striking match (like WB vs Till but not as close) with a couple of takedowns
@@dfpguitar I think Leon's TDD is much better than Wonderboy, Usman could barely take him down in the second fight(and the first fight was different since Leon was gassed because of elevation) I think Wonderboy is the better striker but Leon will mix it with his Grappling and when he keeps Wonderboy guessing about his takedowns it will probably even out the striking between them, specially now that Wonderboy is exiting his prime while Leon is in his prime.
Thompson would win pure striking all day obviously but Leon is more well rounded, he’d put his ego aside and wrestle to a decision
As a long time Wonderboy fan, I remember being so amped while watching this fight. I love that he regularly shows us that he’s still got it!
Thompson is such a fun to watch striker, it's something else. Whenever he fights another striker, you know you're in for a banger of a fight.
His flow state is so smooth
Jesus, those leg kicks to the head.. I have to give it to his opponent, its amazing he was able to stand after getting kicked in the head so many times.
Yeah those arm kicks look nasty too lol.
Wonderboy is so fun to watch dude holy shit this fight definitely took a lot out of Luque's chin, even with good defense you're gonna have problems with wonderboy, let alone just having no head movement in front of someone that accurate who doesn't get tired throwing strikes
There could be a series of 'Stephen Thompson's karate masterclass again:'. Masvidal, Whittaker (170lbs depleted, but regardless), Hendricks (post USADA, but still), getting the better of a killer like Macdonald (who beat Woodley). What a fighter.
Stephen Thompson and lyoto machida should be lauded in the karate world. They really proved to the world how effective karate can be even at the highest level of modern combat.
@@steverogers7601 100%.
@@steverogers7601if there was a karate hof they would fs be in it GSP too
It was beautiful to watch him in that flow state.
Wonderboy getting KOd hurts me to see 😢
What’s wild is that he was winning that fight. He simply just got caught.
Its beautiful to see the switchups he has, he gets so creative with his movement and kicks
I love how Wonderboy gets away with close range wheel kicks repeatedly. A lot of other fighters (notably his own brother-in-law) will often throw it without setup and get shoved to the ground, but WB keeps you so busy focusing on other things that he can often just fling it up with no reprocussions. Probably helps that he has a lifetime of leg dexterity, too.
3:51 this sequence alone shows the level Wonderboy is operating at, it's like he could see the left hook coming before Luque threw it, and the reflexes, what the fuck...
1:36 That was a nasty punch because he threw Luque's body weight with that massive kick check while lining up the strike. Pretty sweet.
wonderboy probably the single most underrated fighter in the rankings today.
Nice video man. I love wonderboy. Thanks!
honestly watching WB fight is a treat. Doesn't get much slicker and cleaner than that. Still too at 40 yrs old. Amazing. When he throws the front side kick to the body, literally nothing but his leg moves. There is no tell at all. How good would an izzy vs WB kickboxing exhibition be?
the speed and precision at 40 is just insane
Came to ufc late and literally catching up on everything Wonderboy. Every fight is just so watchable.
Please make a video of Matt Brown Thai clinch clinic win over Erik Silva
It is crazy how much he lands without really feinting at all. Very impressive.
who can't love this guy. Legend
His fight against Holland was insane. Best and most exiting striker when against another striker.
the legend
Wonderboy is one of my favourite fighters of all time and an absolute Gentleman. The world would be a great place if we had more kind and decent people like him in it.
Great performance!!!
How on earth did Luque eat all those hits and kept fighting? What a warrior man
Wonderboy is one of my absolute favorite guys to watch.
One of the best fighters ever to never win a belt
Would love to see prime Wonderboy against prime Conor, that would be so freakin epic
One of those rare times when a youtube title Wasnt clickbait!
A Flyting between Wonderboy and GSP would be epic
Cung Le, Andy Hug and him are my favorite fighters.
Wonderboy has a relatively underrated chin and this is the fight I really learned that, man was getting tagged and Luque hand's ain't light
2 of my favorite fighters, WW rules
This highlight really reminded me of Holloway-Kattar.
one of the most slept on 1-2s in the game...
Two of my fav 😍
This was supposed to mark the comeback of Stephen Thompson man his grappling kills his game so bad man damn
Karate striking clinic in session.
shout out to Luque too- one tough guy
What a karate show...Vincentes head is swalowed twice a size than before the fight😁🥵🤕
Wonderboy's classy, cool & respectable.
I can't believe Martial Liam hasn't done a video about Anderson Silva still😢😢
Perfect timing WB reminds of Leroy Jones style
I dont know how at this stage of your career you can have your best fight esp after a couple rough ones. What a weapon that kid is!! Wonderboy and nick diaz please 🙏
Luque was definitely taken aback by Wonderboys ability to take a shot in this fight.
On of the 5 holy strikers in the ufc
Love to see the respect and sportsmanship
Luque was never the same after this fight.
Wonderboy and Whittaker have the best Blitz in the UFC that actually works
gsp had that lead Superman punch rear leg kick blitz that’s beautiful
@@justinjasper03 good call
Romero
Machida also
WB broke both his hands after this fight from all the head punches he gave Luque.
"Wonder Boy" Thompson kinda reminds me of old school, vintage Lyoto Machida.
this was a hell of a good fight when it happened. After watching it again now i know how Geoff Neal got Luque. He was basically done in the 3rd round, Thompson all but finshed him.
Wonder boy is soo good,,,,every strike lands
1:18 Keith said damn
My bro Stephen Thompson is the most friendly assassin in the world!!! He can charm you and take you out of the whole game in the same 2 second span.
Sometimes you're the dog ... and sometimes you're the hydrant! I like both fighters too!
Una maravilla la pelea, Wonderboy Thompson super striker. Si la pelea era estelar, lo finalizaba.
i think elbows along with thompsons already deadly arsenal would make this guy unbeatable
Wonderboy is a wonderful fighter
Wonder boy both intimidates me and makes me want to be his friend because of how nice he is at the same time.
Impressionnant 😊🇫🇷🤙🏻
O cara é bom mesmo … Karete na veia
man his strikes just fucking snap at the end hey.
Wonderboy seems a real class act
Not sure hiw old this fightbis but Wonder Boy is jus that.. wonderful talent and a true insperation to to power of karate... Mot a dig at all but if he had just alittle more power he would be unstoppable..in the streets in life or death your dead.. in the ring he know a fight is a fight and is likely the smartest fighter ufc has seen.... Love your fights brother
I wish we got to see luque vs till before till moved up
Wonderboy is my favorite fighter in the UFC. I really hop e the UFC just uses him for fun fights with other strikers. We know he can't hang with that top 5 in welterweight but he can put on amazing shows for the fans.
love him, amzing to watch. If he had knock out power he'd be king
FAK, I love how Thompson just goes..pop pop pop, like a machinegun from the second world war. Luque was very durable though, he ate so many shots.
Damn Vicente is tought as metal
Stephen Thompson Is like playing a boss in first person shooter, With a light gun that’s super accurate. Eventually that health/head bar goes down enough, but if not then it’s smash smash and “continue?”
WB still doesn’t get enough respect, he beat all the young hungry contenders and people still say he’s old
Wonderboy is one of the best out there.
Great fight! Love Wonderboy. Luque wasn't a chump in this bout. He could have mixed it up a little more with shots to the body and some level changes.
good ass fight.
Wonderboy vs pereira gonna be fire boys
I wanted WB to get a rematch against Pettis so badly !!!!
Dang, how did he stay up after some of those hits?
Thomson makes it look so easy .
Like your bro
Amazing work. Karate is an amazing marrial art and I am love watching ni jas do it well.
❤
Can't wait for wonderboy vs Pereira
Why haven’t you done a Max video yet?
Wonderboy keeps throwing that right like he's pitching. If he straightened it out he would've been connecting solid with it all night.
The night that Wonderboy fought like Paulo Costa.
a career ending fight i think! Jesus, Luque took so much dmg, hopefully he doesnt forget the name of his kids after this...