Everything You Need to Know About Ray Thompson – Father of Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is all set to take on Gilbert Burns at the UFC 264 event. Thompson is coming into the fight on the back of two impressive victories against Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque. ‘Wonderboy’ would look to win this fight against Burns and show everyone that he is still amongst the best fighters in the UFC.

Thompson has been training extensively for this fight and as always his trainer Carlos Machado and Ray Thompson (his father and trainer) have been helping him prepare. ‘Wonderboy’ has been training with his father since he was three years old. It was his father who got him interested in kickboxing and karate and helped him become the fighter he is today.

However, many people do not know that ‘Wonderboy’s’ father Ray Thompson is a former professional kickboxer himself. Ray Thompson also owns Upstate Karate a karate school in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

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Who is Mr. Ray Thompson, Stephen Thompson’s father?

Ray Thompson was a legend in Kickboxing, and many often considered him to be one of the best Kickboxers ever. The fighter was the first and only winner of the ‘Toughest Man in South Carolina’ contest in 1980. Thompson was also a regular member of the US kickboxing team and took part in fights all around the world.

The fighter had a great fan following in France and was known as the ‘Master of Disaster’ by the French Public. Along with being a great fighter, Thompson was always great at helping others. Therefore, he eventually became a coach and trained many fighters like Gary Landreth and Rebecca Preacher.

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However, to this day his most famous student is his son Stephen Thompson. Mr. Thompson was well versed in many forms of martial arts and was a black belt in nine martial arts.

‘Wonderboy’ thanks his father for everything

‘Wonderboy’ is amongst the most popular MMA stars today and although it is because of his hard work that he has achieved this success. Thompson knows that he could have achieved none of this without his father. Thompson’s father was his first coach and supporter and still is his biggest supporter.

Thompson has many times claimed that he would never fight without his father in his corner. This illustrates the love and respect ‘Wonderboy’ has for his father and the relationship he shares with him.

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