JRE MMA Show #108 with Stephen Thompson

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      (drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays) Wonderboy in the house, ladies and gentlemen.

   4. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:16

      What's up?

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      What's up, brother? What's going on, man?

   6. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:17

      Dude.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      Thanks for coming in.

   8. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:19

      Thank you, man. Appreciate you having me. Glad to be on with you.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:21

      Long time coming. Should've had you in-

   10. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:23

       I know.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:23

       ... a long time ago, but it's just-

   12. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:25

       I know.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       ... you know, schedules, times, things.

   14. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:27

       (sighs) We had planned on it, like, last summer or something like that.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:30

       Yeah.

   16. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:30

       I mean, we were ... it was one of those things, but then obviously-

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:33

       The COVID.

   18. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:34

       ... COVID ... The COVID, the vid.

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       The COVID.

   20. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:36

       (sighs) Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:36

       But, dude, you're still rocking at the top of the food chain. It's amazing.

   22. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:42

       I'm saying. I'm- people, people are saying I'm too old. I'm 38.

   23. JRJoe Rogan0:46

       Well, look at your victory over Vicente Luque and then look what Luque just did to Tyron Woodley. You're still at the top of the fucking food chain, 'cause that was real recently that you beat him.

   24. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson0:56

       Yeah. It wa- I mean, it was, what? A year ... It was two years ago.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:00

       Mm-hmm.

   26. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:01

       Two years ago, I beat, I beat Vicente. But, uh, yeah, man, people saying I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm too old, and I guess once you get knocked out one time, you just ... They throw you to the side.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:11

       That's people that don't understand the human chin.

   28. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:13

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:14

       It's just like ... It's just, it's just a fact. You get hit-

   30. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:17

       I know.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Right. …

   1. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson15:00

      just mess people up. And she had gotten in a scuffle in school and just beat the crap out of some dude, so she was kind of on her last leg. And nobody messed with her. I mean, it ... you know what she's like when you meet her. She's a very honest person, but she's not the nicest way. She doesn't-

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:16

      Right.

   3. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson15:17

      She's just very straightforward, you know? If you look ugly, she'll say, "You look ugly."

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:20

      She's the opposite of you.

   5. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson15:21

      (laughs) Exactly.

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:22

      (laughs)

   7. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson15:22

      She's more like my dad.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:24

      (laughs)

   9. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson15:24

      And, um, but she was in, uh, some heated argument with this guy, and this guy comes up to do something. I kinda pushed my sister outta the way and I hit this dude. I'm, I'm walking over from the middle school. You know, the high school and middle school are right next to each other, so I'd have to walk over and then get picked up from our ... from my parents. So I'm like s- seventh grade, maybe eighth grade. This kid's probably in 10th grade. And so I, like, sidekicked this dude. He backs ... I hit him right in the chest. I'm a lot smaller than him. And I know Lindsay, if she gets in trouble, she's getting expelled. And, um, my dad's a pretty rough dude. You don't want to get expelled living under his household, you know? And then, uh, so I end up piecing him up just, just ... I hit him with a three-piece combination, his lips bleeding, he's on the ground. And to be honest, I don't even know what I did. I don't even know how I did it. It was just, like, such a blur. I've never been in a ... that kind of situation before. Maybe once or twice, that was it. And, um, it was just like, just like in a fight, you know? In a, in a fight, um, I'm not thinking about what I'm doing, it's just reaction. So it's ... a lot of times, I have to go back and watch the fight to remember exactly what I did during the fight. And his mom rolls up, and I'm sitting here helping this dude up. I pat him on the back, and I was like, "Good job, man." (laughs) You know? That's what I said to him. "Good job." And he said, "Thanks." And, like, walked off-

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:40

       (laughs)

   11. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson16:40

       ... and he's, like, wiping his lip off, you know? He's bleeding. His mom's looking at me. She drives off, but still. I'm like, "Why did I-"

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:47

       Why did you say, "Good job"?

   13. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson16:47

       I, I help him up. (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:48

       (laughs) "Good job, dude." He said, "Good job."

   15. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson16:50

       Oh, my gosh.

   16. JRJoe Rogan16:51

       "Good job taking punches to the face."

   17. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson16:53

       Yeah, to the face. (laughs)

   18. JRJoe Rogan16:55

       (laughs)

   19. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson16:55

       And you know this is getting around school.

   20. JRJoe Rogan16:57

       Of course.

   21. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson16:57

       This middle school just beat you up, middle schooler.

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:59

       Right.

   23. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson17:00

       So yeah, man. I can't ... I don't know.

   24. JRJoe Rogan17:02

       When did you start karate?

   25. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson17:03

       Three years old.

   26. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       Wow.

   27. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson17:05

       Mandatory.

   28. JRJoe Rogan17:06

       Mandatory.

   29. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson17:07

       Mandatory.

   30. JRJoe Rogan17:08

       Wow.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   I think I've seen…

   1. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:00

      Yeah.

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:02

      I think I've seen a video of something like that. I definitely have seen videos of Benny fighting, like, leg kick style.

   3. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:10

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:10

      Yeah.

   5. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:10

      I think after this fight, he ended up-

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:12

      Yeah.

   7. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:12

      ... doing more and more Thai stuff.

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:14

      Yeah.

   9. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:14

      But he would wear- he would still wear the pants, the karate pants.

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:16

       Well, I'm sure you've seen the Rick Rufus fight where Rick Rufus fought that champion from Thailand.

   11. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:20

       Yep.

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:21

       And he hurt him in the first round with punches. But then the guy, he just kept chopping at his legs, chopping at his legs, and eventually they literally had to carry him out of there.

   13. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:29

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan30:29

       He couldn't walk.

   15. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:30

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan30:30

       Uh-

   17. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:30

       There's something else about those Thai guys, man.

   18. JRJoe Rogan30:32

       Well, and also back then, nobody understood the effectiveness of leg kicks.

   19. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:35

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan30:36

       And Rick Rufus was a bad motherfucker back then.

   21. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:38

       Yeah. (laughs) Yeah. Well-

   22. JRJoe Rogan30:39

       Woo! I mean, he was so good.

   23. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:40

       Oh, dude.

   24. JRJoe Rogan30:40

       And- and he had the guy really hurt. He dropped him in the first round, had him in real trouble, but the dude got up. See if you can- it- they call it, it's on YouTube, The Fight That Changed Kickboxing Forever. That's the- the video of it.

   25. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:52

       It was, like, the American kickboxer-

   26. JRJoe Rogan30:54

       Mm-hmm.

   27. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:54

       ... versus the Thai-

   28. JRJoe Rogan30:55

       And-

   29. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson30:55

       ... or the Thai style.

   30. JRJoe Rogan30:56

       People just did not understand the effectiveness. They didn't understand how vulnerable the legs are.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Next surgery, I'm watching…

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      yeah.

   2. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:00

      Next surgery, I'm watching it.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:01

      It was pretty weird.

   4. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:02

      I don't know if you can even do it.

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:03

      Yeah, it was pretty weird.

   6. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:05

      But, you know, it, it, it took a, it took a while because f- five months in, that ligament dies, and then your body kind of regenerates it and it makes it grow.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:13

      Yeah, your body reperipherates it.

   8. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:15

      And then the doctor told me-

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:17

      Proliferate.

   10. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:17

       ... "It's five months in, your knee's gonna feel great." Of course, me, before that, man, I felt like I could do anything.

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:22

       Mm-hmm.

   12. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:22

       You know, I'm sitting here dunking, I can do, I, I've, I've got it where I can, uh, my dad's 6'2", I can jump over my dad, you know, just doing crazy, tricking, martial arts tricking, and-

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:32

       Mm-hmm.

   14. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:32

       ... I do some of that when, if, if I knock anybody out in the octagon. But that was that, my first flip, that little corkscrew I did, I used to do that-

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:39

       Mm-hmm.

   16. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:39

       ... all the time. I don't do that anymore.

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:41

       Just because it's not worth the risk?

   18. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:42

       It's just not worth the risk. Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       Yeah.

   20. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:44

       I mean-

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       It's crazy because it looks cool-

   22. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:46

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:46

       ... but if you fuck y- Like, when Michael Chandler knocked out Dan Hooker and then did that back flip, I was like, "Bro, don't, stop doing that."

   24. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:54

       Or even, what's his name he was doing, like, the body roll and he hurt his shoulder.

   25. JRJoe Rogan45:56

       Yes, Johnny Walker.

   26. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:57

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan45:57

       He fucked his shoulder up.

   28. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson45:59

       He was out forever.

   29. JRJoe Rogan45:59

       Had to get surgery.

   30. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson46:00

       Haven't been the same since.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:04:24

   Yeah, I know what…

   1. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:00

      I mean?

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      Yeah, I know what you're saying. (laughs)

   3. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:02

      (laughs)

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:02

      You know, you got Chris Weidman-

   5. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:03

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:03

      ... just grinding me.

   7. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:04

      (laughs)

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:04

      Well, when you were... The thing is, like, you were so dominant as a striker, that's, it shows tremendous character to be able to kind of start from the ground floor. I mean, obviously every fight starts standing up, so you do have a big advantage there, but that advantage is, it's, it's diminished quite a bit by takedowns, by the threat of takedowns, by all these different aspects of MMA, and, and even fighting in a cage is so much different-

   9. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:28

      Oh yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:28

       ... than fighting in ropes or in fighting in the World Combat League, that sort of bowl-

   11. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:32

       Mm-hmm.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:32

       ... that bowl thing. Did you like that bowl thing?

   13. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:34

       No.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:35

       Not at all?

   15. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:35

       I mean, it looked cool. It looked cool. It looked like a blood sport.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00:38

       Yeah.

   17. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:38

       You know? Uh-

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:00:40

       They're using-

   19. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:41

       I-

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:00:41

       ... that for the Bas Rutten Karate League-

   21. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:43

       Karate League, yeah but-

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:00:44

       Too. What is it called? Karate Combat maybe?

   23. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:46

       Uh, Karate Combat.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:00:47

       Yeah.

   25. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:47

       Karate Combat. It's got like a-

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:00:48

       Similar.

   27. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:49

       It's got... Very similar.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:00:50

       Yeah.

   29. STStephen "Wonderboy" Thompson1:00:50

       But they have walls so you're not falling off the stage.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:00:52

       Right. Right, right.

Episode duration: 3:07:30