"Got manhandled for 3 rounds" - Stephen Thompson explains what went wrong for him in Belal Muhammad fightÂ
Stephen Thompson recently revealed what went wrong during his fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC Vegas 45.
'Wonderboy' posted a video on his YouTube channel where he called his fight with Belal Muhammad a "sucky experience." Thompson admitted that he felt exhausted right from the first round. However, the 38-year-old refrained from informing his coaches as he did not want them to worry.
Speaking about his loss to Belal Muhammad, the UFC welterweight contender said:
"I lost my fight, got manhandled for three rounds. Yeah man, it was a sucky experience to be honest with you. Like you know, I don't know why this happens but when you know I had a great camp, camp was awesome. I was in the greatest shape of my life you know. Was in shape, felt strong and then you know things start to kind of get a little weird whenever you're getting ready to go out you're in the back kind of warming up and your legs start to feel tingly, that's not a good sign...Maybe it had something to do with my rehydration not sure. But I felt exhausted, felt super tired right out of the first round. I didn't want to say anything to my coaches or anything that my legs were feeling tingly."
'Wonderboy' also stated that rehydration could be one of the causes for his exhaustion during the fight. Thompson admitted that after USADA banned the use of IV for rehydration, it became very difficult.
Stephen Thompson said:
"It was the rehydration that was just difficult. You know back in the past, it was kind of like an unwritten rule or untalked about thing that before USADA, we were allowed to IVs you know and it was kind of uh... you know we something we did back in our hotel. Everybody did it. It was such an easier way way to get those fluids back and you felt so much better like instantly. And now having to do everything orally, it's difficult, it takes longer, you don't know if you have drank enough."
Watch Stephen Thompson talk about his fight with Belal Muhammad below:
Stephen Thompson talks about his future MMA plans
Stephen Thompson recently appeared on an episode of The MMA Hour, where he discussed what could be next for him in MMA. The 38-year-old revealed that he has no plans to retire from the sport anytime soon. In fact, the fighter went on to say that he wants to be the oldest person to compete in the UFC.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Stephen Thompson said:
"I'm kind of surprising myself. I have always loved fighting, but I never thought that I would be where I am today and still feeling the way I do. And obviously, that has a lot to do with the coaches and the way I'm training so hats off to those guys. I want to break records, man. I wanna be the oldest guy who ever fought in the UFC. They are going to have to bring out a senior division or something. It's the plan."
You can watch the full interview with Stephen Thompson on The MMA Hour below:
The ace kickboxer doesn't seem to have a time frame in mind for when he'll hang up his gloves. During the interview, 'Wonderboy' also mentioned him agreeing to a new deal with the UFC.