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Stephen Thompson pivots away from ‘NMF’ moniker as he calls for judging ‘education’ after UFC Nashville loss

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Curtis Calhoun | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 7:47 PM ET

Former UFC title challenger Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson wants to see significant reform in MMA judging after UFC Nashville.

UFC star Stephen Thompson lost his fifth fight over his last six appearances at UFC Nashville on Saturday against Gabriel Bonfim, but didn’t walk away as the rightful loser in his own mind.

Thompson and Bonfim squared off in a closely-contested bout in the UFC Nashville co-main event. Bonfim earned a split decision victory over Thompson, despite Thompson arguably landing the more damaging blows in the final minutes of the fight.

Thompson, one of the most charismatic personalities in the UFC, took a rare break from his NMF persona to scold the two judges who didn’t rule the fight in his favor.

Stephen Thompson echoes ‘robbery’ claims after UFC Nashville defeat

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Thompson became the latest UFC star to call for significant judging reform.

“I felt that I did enough to win the fight. Clean strikes, felt great with my movement, I felt like I had more damage and that it was in my favor,” Thompson said.

“Bonfim, tough fighter, hats off to the guy. But when the crowd, the analysts, are all this shocked by the decision, something’s not right. I’ve been in this game for a long time, and I know what it feels like to win and lose a fight. I didn’t lose!

“Everyone who saw the fight, thought I won,” Thompson continued. “So what do we do about that? I think there has to be more accountability with the [judges], and I know that’s not the UFC’s fault, it’s the commission’s fault. But there needs to be more transparency and more education when it comes to the judging of these fights.”

Thompson’s former coach, Ray Longo, believes his former pupil was robbed on the judges’ scorecards due to his age. He claimed that if Thompson was 34 years old, he would’ve gotten the nod and the victory.

To make matters worse, Thompson suffered a horrific shin injury in one of the most gruesome mid-fight cuts in recent UFC history. Thompson revealed he had to get three layers of stitches after UFC Nashville to repair his wounded shin.

Stephen Thompson chasing UFC history despite big setback at UFC Nashville

Despite his setback at UFC Nashville and the controversy surrounding it, Thompson has a chance to make UFC history before he opts to hang up the gloves. In the leadup to UFC Nashville, Thompson eyed Randy Couture’s record as he looks to become the oldest fighter to compete in the Octagon (Couture fought at age 47).

Before UFC Nashville, Thompson suffered a brutal knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC 307 after getting submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov . He hasn’t won since defeating Kevin Holland at UFC Orlando in 2022.

While Thompson is firmly out of the welterweight title picture, he plans on sticking around for at least the remainder of his UFC contract.