Stephen Thompson has fought the very best and educated with the very best, however no person impressed him greater than Georges St-Pierre.
“Wonderboy” was a staple of of the UFC legend’s coaching camps beginning in 2008 and he helped put together St-Pierre for wins over the likes of B.J. Penn, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, and extra elite welterweights of the period. On the identical time, St-Pierre and his Tristar Fitness center staff in Montreal aided Thompson in his transition from kickboxing to MMA.
What struck Thompson probably the most about St-Pierre isn’t how he dominated the competitors, however how he allowed himself to wrestle when it got here to bettering his expertise between fights.
“His mindset form of helped me,” Thompson mentioned on the Overdogs Podcast. “Even MMA, there’s a whole lot of ego in terms of MMA. MMA is a really egocentric sport to start with, however with ‘GSP,’ he would practice with folks that will simply smash him. If it was placing, he desires any individual that was higher than him at placing. If it was jiu-jitsu, he’s on the market coaching with Roger Gracie, he was like two weight lessons above him and simply tremendous skillful, however [St-Pierre] would put himself in conditions or underneath guys that might simply smash him and he would get higher coaching with these guys, if it was placing, if it was wrestling.
“I noticed him and Rashad Evans go at it at Tristar one time, it was sick. I noticed him and Roger Gracie go at it and he would simply get submitted on a regular basis. So he would at all times come within the fitness center with an empty cup. Daily. Doesn’t matter although he was champion, multiple-time champion, he would nonetheless are available in and simply be taught from not simply the coaches however from all people, which was like, ‘That’s what I’ve received to do.’”
Thompson by no means captured the UFC welterweight title as St-Pierre did on two events, however he made it to No. 1 contender standing and twice fought Tyron Woodley for the belt. The 42-year-old presently owns a 17-8-1 professional MMA document, with a number of notable wins, together with Robert Whittaker, Rory MacDonald, Jorge Masvidal, Geoff Neal, and Vicente Luque.
Given his repute because the UFC’s unofficial “NMF” (Nicest Mom F*cker) champion, it’s no shock that Thompson was desperate to observe St-Pierre’s lead when it got here to giving again to his coaching companions.
“I ought to be within the fitness center, these guys helped me prepare, I must be within the fitness center serving to them prepare,” Thompson mentioned. “As a result of although he would have a struggle and he simply received by means of coaching camp, if he had guys that had fights arising, he was there within the fitness center, serving to them prepare. I’m like, ‘Bro, that’s cool.’”
Thompson’s relationship with St-Pierre and the Tristar staff dates again to round 2008, when Thompson caught their eye throughout a kickboxing competitors. His karate and kickboxing background made him a perfect coaching accomplice for St-Pierre as he appeared to shore up his placing expertise and put together for a wide range of standup types.
The working relationship turned so productive, Thompson credit St-Pierre for motivating him to make the full-time leap to MMA.
“He was on the point of struggle Jon Fitch, I feel B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, who on the time was a monster striker, Carlos Condit,” Thompson mentioned. “So I’m like, ‘Dude, are you kidding me? I might like to go on the market.’ I’m, like, early 20s, I might love to return out and simply be a component. On the time, I had put my jiu-jitsu and wrestling on the backburner, as a result of kickboxing was extra standard. Worldwide, it was extra standard than MMA was, in order that they ended up bringing me out and I feel I used to be on the market for 2 or three weeks they usually set me up, I didn’t must pay for something. I didn’t even ask for it, they didn’t must pay for nothing.
“I went on the market, I educated with them, I sparred with them, and each time I stored going out, each punch I threw, each punch that I threw, I used to be getting taken down, left and proper. I’m like, ‘I’m a horrible sparring accomplice for this man.’ So I began doing extra jiu-jitsu, extra wrestling, began studying extra MMA simply to be a greater sparring accomplice for GSP. He ended up bringing me out for, like, each considered one of his camps up till he retired just about. … We turned good associates. He was my inspiration to modify from kickboxing to MMA.”
