Sidelined with a thumb injury, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson is watching the welterweight division unfold.
Thompson told Fightful.com that he's doing physical therapy on a torn ligament in his thumb in an effort to avoid surgery. "Wonderboy" revealed to James Lynch that he also has to tape his thumb to his hand while he trains.
"The doctor wants me to put a pin in my thumb. I tore a ligament that won't grow back. If I put a pin in, I won't be able to make a fist. I don't want to go in and have surgery to where I can't make a fist. So that might wait for the end of my fighting career. Making a fist or grabbing somebody's wrist is pretty painful. If I do have a fight, maybe late March," said Thompson.
As far as an opponent, Wonderboy is remaining pretty strict as it relates to who he'll be fighting. After going through former champions to gain his #1 ranking, he wants a top-5 opponent.
"I'm in a hard spot right now. I went through murderer's row to get where I'm at. Anyone in that top 5 would be awesome. Darren Till has been calling me out like crazy. To me, he's fought one guy in that division that has a name, and that's Cerrone -- he was on a two fight losing streak before he fought Darren Till. He's a very exciting fighter, it just doesn't make sense right now. Anybody in the top 5. I know I'm not getting a title shot, and I know RDA is getting it. I'm still ranked number one. I know Tyron says he's trying to fight at the beginning of 2018. I'm hearing he had surgery, I'm not sure how long he's going to be out. Will RDA want to wait that long? Will he want to solidify that number one spot? I'm here, baby. I've always wanted to fight Robbie (Lawler). I think it would be an awesome fight. I'm not really sure how long he's going to be out with his knee injury. He's being fairly quiet about it," said Thompson.
When pressed about the potential of fighting opponents outside the top 5, Wonderboy noted that it was possible as long as they keep themselves in the win column moving forward.
"Definitely down the line, any of these guys I'd face, (including) Darren Till. (Kamaru) Usman is a scary dude. He's a very strong wrestler, he's been dominating everybody. He's another guy that's definitely on my radar. I'll be facing any of these guys in the near future. They stay on track and they keep winning," said Thompson.
In the full interview, Stephen Wonderboy Thompson (14-2-1) talks about his win over Jorge Masvidal (32-12) at UFC 217 and the injury he suffered in that fight. Stephen also talks about potential matchups against - Rafael Dos Anjos, Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Darren Till, his love for snowboarding and potentially competing in Pro Wrestling.
