Latest news with #Wonderboy
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stephen ‘Wonderboy' Thompson is the oldest fighter in the UFC, yet still a babyface
When Vitor Belfort stepped into the Octagon for the last time against Lyoto Machida at UFC 224, he was 41 years old. A little long in the tooth to be calling himself 'The Phenom,' even if the nickname was given to him two decades earlier when the wisdoms hadn't yet come in. That's pretty much the same terrain Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson finds himself is as he gets set to fight Gabriel Bonfim at UFC Nashville on Saturday. With his boyish good looks, you might think Thompson is around 30 or so. But the reality is he's 42 years old. He's fought 21 times in the UFC over the course of 13 years. When he debuted at UFC 143 against a Midwestern slugger named Dan Stittgen, he was already 29. Advertisement To put that into perspective, multi-division UFC champion Ilia Topuria is only 28 years old right now. "Wonderboy" has heard plenty about his anachronistic nickname over the past few years, yet he's not about to switch things up in the twilight of his career. 'People ask me sometimes, when are you going to change it to 'Wonderman?'' he says. 'It's funny because, when I met Jack Black, I was like, 'I'm not changing my name until you come out with a song called 'Wonderman.' So until then, I'm still the 'Wonderboy' because I'm still walking out to that Tenacious D 'Wonderboy' song.' To take it a step further, when Thompson makes that walk at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, he will also hold the distinction of being the UFC's oldest fighter. Jan Blachowicz was born on February 24, 1983, 13 days after Wonderboy came into this world. It's both a badge of honor to outlast the field and a somewhat dubious reminder that the clock is ticking. Advertisement Toward what exactly? That's a question even Thompson doesn't have the answer to yet. Between his family's gym in South Carolina, coaching kids, his burgeoning analyst gig on UFC broadcasts and — if he may be so bold — the possibility of a late title run, life is still very much a choose your own adventure. 'To be honest with you, what I think is pretty cool about making it this far is not only am I the oldest guy in the UFC, but I've been literally in the top five, top 10 since 2013, 2014 I think,' he says. 'So, I hadn't really dropped below that since then. I think right now I finally did after getting beat by [Joaquin] Buckley. Yet I had some injuries, I was out for almost a year, so I've kind of dipped down in the rank [for the moment]. This is the first time since 2014 that that's happened, though.' It's been a solid career for Thompson even if he were to hang up the gloves tomorrow. He fought for the welterweight title twice. He has a dozen victories in the UFC, with former champions like Johny Hendricks and Robert Whittaker on his hit list. He has accumulated eight post-night bonuses, scored some of the best knockouts on record (poor Jake Ellenberger), all while staying near the top. 'I've been in the mix and fighting the elite guys in the UFC for a very long time,' he says, as fresh faced as ever. Advertisement 'I went back and watched my last fight [against Buckley], and — even though I got knocked out in the third round — I felt just as fast as I always have. I felt precise, I felt accurate. I mean, just the guys that I'm facing are just super tough guys, and that's especially true with Gabriel. He's an up-and-coming guy who was undefeated until [Nicolas] Dalby beat him. He's a stud. He's coming up, and I'm kind of one of the guys that give back to those guys that are coming up. Stephen Thompson is still fighting top-tier opposition at age 42. (USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect / Reuters) 'If it wasn't for Jake Ellenberger or Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks, those guys giving me those opportunities when I was working my way up, I couldn't have done it. Now in the UFC, you get a lot of these guys who are holding onto their spots. You don't want to give it up to these young studs, but that's the only way to give back to these guys — give them a test, give them a chance to work their way up just like I was given that chance. So we're doing it.' The 27-year-old Bonfim has been a very dangerous out since breaking through on the Contender Series back in 2022. He has four overall finishes, all of them coming by way of submission. His latest, a late second-round D'arce choke that finished off Khaos Williams, catapulted him toward the big names of the division. Advertisement Meaning Thompson. 'He's a very aggressive striker, and he's kind of like a counter wrestler,' Thompson says. 'He's got great submissions. He's a great submission artist with his guillotine and D'arce. I mean, the guy must have a really tight squeeze, but he's dangerous everywhere. You try to take him down, he's looking for a D'arce or a guillotine. He's coming forward and throwing bombs. So I'm not taking this guy lightly whatsoever, because if you're in the UFC, you're a dangerous dude.' It's like a proverb, but "Wonderboy" doesn't like to think that he's 42 years old. He prefers 42 years young. And he still has a dream of capturing the flag late in his career. After all, Randy Couture was 45 years old when he won the heavyweight title at UFC 68. That's the mindset he says he has to carry to compete at the highest level. The one major difference from the version of Thompson who stepped into the Octagon for the first time at UFC 143 and the UFC's eldest statesman who will make the walk Saturday? Advertisement Perspective. He says that these days he soaks up every moment, because they're fleeting. 'More now than ever, because I've got two fights left in my contract and we want to see those through,' he says. 'I'm kind of going that [television] analyst route — which is a lot better than getting punched and kicked in the face, for sure, but still be a part of the game. 'But I got two fights left. I want to honor those, and depending on how well they go, we'll determine whether or not I continue to go. I think more now than ever, I'm kind of soaking everything up. Just trying to remember everything and take everything in, the crowd going crazy, the hype behind it all, you know what I'm saying? 'Just taking it all in.'
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
With contract winding down, Stephen Thompson hopes UFC journey marches on
At 42, Stephen Thompson is still trucking. Thompson (17-8-1 MMA, 12-8-1 UFC) takes on Gabriel Bonfim (17-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Saturday's UFC on ESPN 70 (ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Advertisement Thompson revealed to MMA Junkie that his UFC contract is winding down, but he has no intention to stop fighting just yet. "I've got two fights left, and we're going to see them through, we're going to honor them," Thompson said Tuesday. "Go out there and win these next two fights in a great fashion, and we'll see if we'll keep going. It depends on what the UFC wants to do for sure. God forbid, if it doesn't, then I've got other routes that I can take." Despite taking on another rising welterweight in Bonfim, "Wonderboy" doesn't view himself as a gatekeeper. "I'm kind of like the go-to guy in the welterweight division that – there's a lot of guys in the welterweight division, it's actually getting popular for people to try to hold onto their spot, and I'm notorious for giving these guys a shot," Thompson said. "I did it with Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal, Kevin Holland. I'm just the guy to allow these guys to come up and test themselves. Advertisement "I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for those guys – Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald. Those guys gave me a shot. So just giving these guys a chance to prove themselves coming up, that's kind of what it is at this point." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Nashville: Stephen Thompson future uncertain as contract nears end
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stephen Thompson vs Gabriel Bonfim Official for UFC Nashville Card
Stephen Thompson vs Gabriel Bonfim Official for UFC Nashville Card originally appeared on Athlon Sports. UFC Nashville is shaping up to be one of the summer's most action-packed cards. Scheduled for July 12 at Bridgestone Arena in Tennessee, the event is anchored by a heavyweight headliner featuring knockout artist Derrick Lewis taking on Brazil's towering powerhouse, Tallison Teixeira. As anticipation builds for that slugfest, the UFC has now added another compelling matchup to the lineup—one that could mark a career crossroads for a beloved veteran and a pivotal proving ground for a fast-rising prospect. Advertisement Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson 42, is set to face Gabriel 'Marretinha' Bonfim 27, from Brazil in a welterweight clash announced via the UFC's official X account. Thompson, once known for his elusive striking and karate-based style, is currently riding a two-fight skid, including a recent defeat to Joaquin Buckley at UFC 307. With questions looming about his future, this fight may very well determine if he remains a contender or fades into the background. Stephen ThompsonGetty Images On the other side, Bonfim enters the bout with momentum. After submitting Khaos Williams in his last outing, he extended his UFC record to 5-1, with his only loss coming to Nicolas Dalby in 2023. Gabriel BonfimGetty Images A win over a decorated name like Thompson could fast-track Bonfim into the division's top 15 and bolster his reputation as a legitimate force at 170 pounds. UFC CEO Dana WhitePhoto by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images UFC President Dana White continues his push to build strong summer lineups, and this latest welterweight matchup adds more depth, attention, and significance to an already exciting and competitive Nashville card that continues to gain momentum. Advertisement Related: 'He's Overrated' – Jon Jones Fires at Former UFC Interim Champion Related: UFC Veteran Teases Date for Heavily Pursued Conor McGregor Showdown This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Ammon
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Ammon
Demand for viral ‘torpedo' baseball bats has sent a Pennsylvania factory into overdrive
Ammon News - A 70-year-old man who plays in an area senior hardball league popped into Victus Sports this week because he needed bats for the new season. Plus he just had to take some cuts with baseball's latest fad and see for himself if there really was some wizardry in the wallop off a torpedo bat. Ed Costantini, of Newtown Square, picked up the custom-designed VOLPE11-TPD Pro Reserve Maple, and took his hacks just like MLB stars and Victus customers Anthony Volpe or Bryson Stott would inside the company's batting cage and tracked the ball's path on the virtual Citizens Bank Park on the computer screens. Most big leaguers use that often indistinguishable 'feel' as a qualifier as to how they select a bat. Costantini had a similar process and thought the hype surrounding the torpedo since it exploded into the baseball consciousness over the weekend was a 'hoax.' But after dozens of swings in the cage, where he said the balance was better, the ball sounded more crisp off the bat, the left-handed hitter ordered on the spot four custom-crafted torpedo bats at $150 a pop. 'The litmus test that I used was, I could see where the marks of the ball were,' Costantini said. 'The swings were hitting the thickness of the torpedo as opposed to the end of the bat.' More than just All-Stars want a crack at the torpedo — a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin — and Costantini's purchase highlighted the surge of interest in baseball's shiny new toy outside the majors. Think of home runs in baseball, and the fan's mind races to the mammoth distances a ball can fly when slugged right on the nose, or a history-making chase that captivates a nation. Of lesser interest, the ol' reliable wood bat itself. That was, of course, until Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger hit back-to-back homers for the New York Yankees last Saturday to open a nine-homer barrage. Victus Sports, known as much for their vibrant bats painted as pencils or the Phillie Phanatic dressed as a King's Guard, had three employees at the game and they started a text thread where they hinted to those back home that, perhaps more than home runs were taking off. Business was about to boom, too. Yankees crowed about the torpedo-shape concept that had baseball buzzing and pitchers grumbling. The scuttlebutt and headlines stoked their super curious peers, most with an eye out for any legal, offensive edge, into asking Victus and other bat manufacturers about the possibility of taking a swing with the most famous style of bat since Roy Hobbs grabbed a 'Wonderboy.' *AP
The Hill
03-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hill
Demand for viral ‘torpedo' baseball bats has sent a Pennsylvania factory into overdrive
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) — A 70-year-old man who plays in an area senior hardball league popped into Victus Sports this week because he needed bats for the new season. Plus he just had to take some cuts with baseball's latest fad and see for himself if there really was some wizardry in the wallop off a torpedo bat. Ed Costantini, of Newtown Square, picked up the custom-designed VOLPE11-TPD Pro Reserve Maple, and took his hacks just like MLB stars and Victus customers Anthony Volpe or Bryson Stott would inside the company's batting cage and tracked the ball's path on the virtual Citizens Bank Park on the computer screens. Most big leaguers use that often indistinguishable 'feel' as a qualifier as to how they select a bat. Costantini had a similar process and thought the hype surrounding the torpedo since it exploded into the baseball consciousness over the weekend was a 'hoax.' But after dozens of swings in the cage, where he said the balance was better, the ball sounded more crisp off the bat, the left-handed hitter ordered on the spot four custom-crafted torpedo bats at $150 a pop. 'The litmus test that I used was, I could see where the marks of the ball were,' Costantini said. 'The swings were hitting the thickness of the torpedo as opposed to the end of the bat.' More than just All-Stars want a crack at the torpedo — a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin — and Costantini's purchase highlighted the surge of interest in baseball's shiny new toy outside the majors. Think of home runs in baseball, and the fan's mind races to the mammoth distances a ball can fly when slugged right on the nose, or a history-making chase that captivates a nation. Of lesser interest, the ol' reliable wood bat itself. That was, of course, until Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger hit back-to-back homers for the New York Yankees last Saturday to open a nine-homer barrage. Victus Sports, known as much for their vibrant bats painted as pencils or the Phillie Phanatic dressed as a King's Guard, had three employees at the game and they started a text thread where they hinted to those back home that, perhaps more than home runs were taking off. Business was about to boom, too. Yankees crowed about the torpedo-shape concept that had baseball buzzing — and pitchers grumbling. The scuttlebutt and headlines stoked their super curious peers, most with an eye out for any legal, offensive edge, into asking Victus and other bat manufacturers about the possibility of taking a swing with the most famous style of bat since Roy Hobbs grabbed a 'Wonderboy.' Torpedo bats are driving an unprecedented surge in lumber curiosity Victus spent most of the last 14 years trying to help shape the future of baseball. The company's founders just never imagined that shape would resemble a bowling pin. 'It was the most talked about thing about bats that we ever experienced,' Victus co-founder Jared Smith said. Victus isn't the only company producing the bulgy bats, but they were among the first to list them for sale online after the Yankees' made them the talk of the sports world. The torpedo bat took the league by storm in only 24 hours, and days later, the calls and orders, and test drives — from big leaguers to rec leaguers — are humming inside the company's base, in a northwest suburb of Philadelphia. 'The amount of steam that it's caught, this quickly, that's certainly surprising,' Smith said. 'If the Yankees hitting nine home runs in a game doesn't happen, this doesn't happen.' Victus was stamped this season as the official bat of Major League Baseball and business was already good: Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is among the stars who stick their bats on highlight reels. But that torpedo-looking hunk of lumber? It generated about as much interest last season in baseball as a .200 hitter. Victus made its first torpedoes around 2024 spring training when the Yankees reached out about crafting samples for their players. Victus, as dialed-in as anyone in the bat game, only made about a dozen last season, and about a dozen more birch or maple bats this spring. This week alone, try hundreds of torpedoes. 'Every two minutes, another one comes out of the machine,' Smith said. Who knew there would be a baseball bat craze? On a good day, Victus makes 600-700 bats, but the influx of pro orders — the company estimates at least half of every starting lineup uses Victus or Marucci bats — has sent production into overdrive. The creation of a typical bat is usually a two-day process, but one can be turned around without a finish in about 20 minutes. Victus crafted rush-order bats Monday morning for a few interested Phillies and dashed to Citizens Bank Park for delivery moments before first pitch. All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm singled with one. Stott tested bats at the Marucci hit lab down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, churning through styles until the company found the right fit. 'They connect all these wires to you, and you swing 1,000 bats,' Stott said. 'And they kind of tell you where you're hitting the ball mostly.' Rookie of the year? Here's the surprising part of the torpedo bat: For all its early hype, the bat is no rookie in the game. The lethal lumber has been used by some sluggers in baseball for at least a year or two only, well, no one really noticed. Giancarlo Stanton and Francisco Lindor used torpedoes last season. Other players experimented with it and no one — not the bulk of other players or journalists or fans — ever really picked up on the newfangled advance in hitting innovation. Smith said only 'a few baseball junkies' inquired about the bats. 'I think it's just one of those things that until you're looking for it, you might not see it,' Smith said. 'Now when you look at pictures, you're like, oh yeah, it's a torpedo.' Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees front-office staffer who now works for the Miami Marlins, was credited as the one who developed the torpedo barrel to bring more mass to a bat's sweet spot. A member of Victus' parent company, Marucci Sports, worked with Leanhardt in a Louisiana branch of their hit lab last year to get the bat off the ground and into the hands of big leaguers. 'I think getting past the shape being different was the hardest barrier,' Smith said. 'Then the team goes out and hits those home runs like they did and everyone is willing to try it.' Before last weekend, Victus had no plans to mass produce the bat, making it only available to professionals. Now, Smith said, 'I think it's our job to kind of educate the public in what's out there.' The odd shape off the bat — like making a sausage, the meat is simply pushed down the casing — has little to no effect at Victus on the dynamics of making a baseball bat. The cost is the same as a standard bat, too, with a sticker price starting at around $200. Only the slogan is punched up: Get your hands on the most-talked about bat in the game. The bat kings deliver their biggest hit yet Victus was created by Smith and Ryan Engroff in a Blackwood, New Jersey, garage in 2012 and exploded in popularity over the last decade thanks in the large part to its bat art. Bruce Tatum, an in-house artist known as 'The Bat King,' calls his memorable designs such as the No. 2 pencil and crayon bats notably used in the Little League Classic 'swingable art.' The Victus walls look straight out of an art gallery, only instead of classic paintings, rows and rows of colorful bats emblazoned with everything from Harper's face to Gritty's eyes are on display. 'Normally people are here to talk about the Bat King,' Smith said, laughing. He was busy, sketching ideas for next year's bats for the baseball All-Star game in Philadelphia. 'Bruce's cheesesteak bat, I'm just telling you, is going to be the talk of the town,' Smith said. 'I guarantee it.' Victus has over 300 employees and 60 alone inside their King of Prussia headquarters. The company has outgrown its base and is busting at the seams, and when a bat suddenly goes viral, 'all our seams are exposed.' The folks at Victus — who previously have experimented with axe handle and puck knobs — have no fear the bat will become the baseball equal to the NFL's tush push, a fresh wrinkle that some might try to legislate out of the game. MLB has relatively uncomplicated bat rules, stating under 3.02: 'The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.' It goes on to state there may be a cupped indentation up to 1 1/4 inches in depth, 2 inches wide and with at least a 1-inch diameter, and experimental models must be approved by MLB. The torpedo is 100% legal. Year after year, Victus' bat business has picked up. Jonny Gomes used a Victus bat when he went deep in the 2013 World Series and Harper stamped the company as a major player when he played for Washington and swung a 'We The People' bat and tossed it in the air to win the 2018 Home Run Derby. 'Our product kept getting better and it got to the point where he probably felt like we had the best bat, and we felt like we had the best bat,' Smith said. Does it work? There's not enough data yet to truly know how much oomph — or hits and homers — a torpedo bat may help some hitters. Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz picked one up for the first time Monday and had a single, double and two home runs for a career-high seven RBIs. Not all hitters are believers —- or at least feel like they need to tinker with their lumber. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who hit an AL-record 62 homers in 2022 and 58 last year en route to his second AL MVP award, declined to try the new bat, asking, 'Why try to change something?' Phillies All-Star shortstop Trea Turner said the hoopla was 'blown out of proportion.' 'You've still got to hit the ball,' Turner said. Turner, though, said he was open to trying the torpedo. Arizona pitcher Zac Gallen grew up a Mark McGwire fan and compared the fad to the bloated barrel used by the retired St. Louis Cardinals' slugger's old Nerf bat. 'The concept seems so simple. For it to take this long is wild,' Gallen said. No matter. The bat is here today and not going anywhere — except perhaps flying off the shelves. 'For bats to be the hot topic out in the zeitgeist is cool,' Smith said. 'It's kind of like our time to shine, in a way.'
