Stephen Thompson has one wish in mind for final UFC fight

Stephen Thompson has one fight remaining on his UFC contract. Thompson (17-9-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) hasn't competed since a close split decision loss to Gabriel Bonfim at UFC on ESPN 70 in July 2025, marking his third loss in a row. "Wonderboy" now has lost five of his past six fights. Currently the oldest fighter on the UFC roster at 43, Thompson wants to complete his contract at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he's fought three times before. "I'm in talks with the UFC right now, and we're looking at Madison Square Garden in November," Thompson said in an interview with Home of Fight. "So, back at MSG. I love fighting at MSG. Spent a lot of time in Long Island, so New York is kind of like my home away from home. But, yeah, that's kind of what we're shooting for. "I don't have an opponent yet, so we'll see where that ends up, but that is the plan: Madison Square Garden, November 14th, got to make it happen. I've actually got one fight left on my contract. So, yeah, one fight left. We're looking at November, and we'll see, man. We'll see who we get. We're kind of looking at the roster, trying to find a good fight, good barn burner, if you will, for that card for sure." Thompson admits he finds himself in a bit of a quandary. A perennial contender and former multiple-time UFC title challenger at welterweight, his losing skid had him exit the rankings for the first time in years. "The welterweight division, it's just like a conveyor belt of guys just moving up, coming down, moving up," Thompson said. "It's just wild. It's great to be able to see a weight class like that just – you know, for a long time it was stagnant. You had the top guy at the top brass, and it was just those guys for the long time, for the longest. But now you're getting fresh blood. I mean, look at Bonfim. He's doing really well in the division. He's moving up, as well. Carlos Prates is actually doing very well. You've got Ian Garry obviously who won that next shot, but it's super exciting to be able to see. "And for me, I don't know where to look because I don't know what’s allowed. It's been a long time since I was out of the top 10, right? So, I don't know what's allowed. Like, can I pick somebody above me? It's been a while, so I'm not really sure what I can touch, what I can't. So, we're just looking at the roster right now, something that makes sense. "I was actually looking at Ponzinibbio, but he just ended up getting knocked out recently. So, that's a no-go. But we don't know, man. We don't know. I figured Ponzinibbio because he's a striker. He'll bring the fight, he’s exciting, too, but he ended up getting knocked out, so that's not going to happen. So, back to the drawing board. We'll see." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Stephen Thompson has one wish in mind for final UFC fight