Stephen Thompson is making one last run at UFC gold.

The relentlessly-entertaining ‘Wonderboy’ has come up short in his two title shots so far in his career — both of which came against Tyron Woodley (a draw and a defeat) — but just months out from his 41st birthday, he is primed for one more assault at become a world champion.

That quest continues next weekend at UFC 296 in Las Vegas when he fights the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmanov in what can likely be viewed as a ‘must-win’ bout for Thompson if he has any realistic aspirations of becoming a world champion in the UFC.

But few fighters possess the sheer range of attack that Thompson has in his arsenal, something that Kevin Holland found out for himself in what was Thompson’s most recent fight just over a year ago in what was considered one of 2022’s most entertaining scraps.

And if he is able to repeat this type of striking masterclass performance against Rakhmanov next week then who is to say that ‘Wonderboy’ won’t walk off into the sunset with a gold belt around his waist when all is said and done.

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