Watch: 'Wonderboy' Stephen Thompson 'almost breaks' his elbow while attempting insane karate feat
UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson gave fans a scare by almost injuring himself while attempting a risky elbow strike on a stack of boards.
The UFC veteran took to Instagram to post a clip of him donning a Karate gi and attempting to break a stack of 15 wooden boards with an elbow strike called the '12 to 6'. However, the strike did not even disturb the stack of boards as Thompson recoiled from the impact in pain.
'Wonderboy' laughed the pain off as his training partner then had a go at the stack. The training partner tried a more dramatic approach, gesturing towards the sky in reference to the mythical deity Zeus. It was a similar resolute response from the wooden boards as Thompson's training partner also failed to break any and only managed to topple the boards.
Stephen Thompson jokingly captioned the post
"I almost broke my elbow 😅 😂 "
Check out Thompson's Instagram post below:
However, fans have nothing to worry about as the clip is from an old YouTube video on Thompson's channel from 2021. Thompson's matchup against Michel Pereira in the upcoming pay-per-view next week is not in jeopardy.
Check out the complete YouTube video of Thompson breaking boards below:
Stephen Thompson does not wish to take on significantly bigger Israel Adesanya
Stephen Thompson is set to take on Michel Pereira at UFC 289 next week in a welterweight bout. The lifelong welterweight discussed a hypothetical fight against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in an interview with MiddleEasy.
'Wonderboy' was not very fond of the idea of facing 'Izzy' who he pointed out was a much bigger opponent from a heavier weight class. However, he maintained that it would be a great experience to train alongside Adesanya.
"I'm not a big welterweight. I probably walk around 195 at my heaviest. These guys are walking around [at] like 220... I've stood beside 'Stylebender', I mean he's a good head taller than me and [has] crazy reach. I think it would be fun to train with him, maybe get a sparring match, but to fight that guy? I don't know, man... Y'all crazy, I don't wanna fight that guy. Are you kidding me? That would be fun, though."
The UFC lists Adesanya's height at 76 inches, while Thompson is a third of a foot shorter at 72 inches. Thompson's reach is also a full five inches shorter than Adesanya's at 80. These physical disadvantages, coupled with Thompson's age and Adesanya's supreme form and tenacity, are not favorable for 'Wonderboy' in a fantasy matchup.
Check out Stephen Thompson's comments below: