Sports · Thompson retiresStephen Thompson retirement: Spinning-kick knockout ends 16-year MMA careerWritten November 15, 2026 at 11:55 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:00Stephen Thompson retirement spinning kick knockout ends sixteen year MMA career.0:07Steven Thompson knocked out Charles Ratke, then left his gloves in the octagon.0:11The forty-three-year old ends a sixteen-year MMA career with a victory that breaks a0:15three fight losing streak.0:17He'd already decided this would be his last fight.0:19One detail of that final victory still divides the descriptions.0:22Was it a spinning wheel kick or a spinning back kick?0:24Thompson's farewell closed the preliminary card at UFC330 4 .140:31.0:31The finish came a reported two minutes,54 seconds into round three after he'd worked0:35through Ratke's early grappling pressure.0:37Ratke took him down inside the opening minute and worked from top position.0:41Thompson tried to get back up, but regaining his feet didn't immediately free him.0:45Ratke kept him pinned in a clinch against the cage.0:48Thompson eventually broke away and began landing his jab, using distance and counter0:52strikes to change the fight.0:53Ratke pursued another takedown in the second round.0:56Whether he completed it is disputed.0:58Thompson increasingly found room for straight punches and varied kicks.1:01By the round's end, he was landing sustained offense, and Ratke was struggling to1:05answer.1:06Thompson landed a heel kick to the face in the third and kept combining punches with1:10kicks.1:10Ratke slowed and sought relief in the clinch.1:13The spinning strike finally sent him to the canvas.1:15The finish followed Thompson's growing control of the exchanges after that difficult1:19opening round.1:20The finish has been called both a spinning wheel kick and a spinning back kick.1:23Thompson himself called it a spin back kick afterward.1:26The common ground is the spinning, kick stoppage that ended his final fight.1:30Thompson had carried seventeen wins, nine losses, and one draw into the bout.1:34His three straight defeats came against Shavkat Rachmanov, Ja Kinbuckley, and1:38Gabriel Bonfim.1:40Beating Ratke ended that run and added a tenth stoppage victory to his career.1:44He leaves with eighteen wins overall.1:46Subscribe to this channel as we follow Thompson's next chapter after his final1:49fight.1:50His overall MMA record finishes at eighteen wins, nine losses, and one draw.1:54Inside the UFC, he went thirteen wins.1:56Nine losses and one draw across twenty-three appearances.2:00His first five MMA victories came before he joined the promotion.2:03Thomson moved into MMA in two thousand and ten after an unbeaten kickboxing run,2:07reportedly fifty-seven wins without a loss.2:10His UFC debut came in February2012 at UFC143.2:14He knocked out Dan Stickin with a first-round head kick.2:17His promotional career therefore began and ended with a kick that stopped his2:21opponent.2:21After losing his next UFC appearance to Matt Brown by unanimous decision, Thompson2:25won seven straight fights.2:26That run earned two welterweight title challenges against Tyron Woodley.2:30Their two thousand and sixteen meeting ended in a majority draw.2:32Thompson lost the two thousand and seventeen rematch by majority decision.2:35Robert Whitaker, Johnny Hendricks, and Rory MacDonald were among the fighters he2:39beat on his way up.2:40Later victories over Horsey Masvidal, Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal, and Kevin Holland2:45kept him relevant well beyond those championship opportunities.2:47Thompson never won the UFC's one hundred seventy-pound title and received no further2:51title challenge after Woodley.2:53After the win, Thompson said.2:55I've been with the UFC for almost fifteen years.2:58I couldn't have asked for better than a spin-back kick to the dome.3:01That stretch covers his UFC career.3:03Within his sixteen years competing in MMA, he continued, I don't care if your hands3:07are up.3:07A spin-back kick, you are going down.3:09Then the celebration became more personal.3:12I told myself I wasn't gonna cry.3:14I just wanna say I love you.3:15He put down his gloves after delivering the victory he'd hoped to leave with.3:18Joe Rogan was in tears during the final interview.3:21Thompson had made his retirement plans public before fight night and confirmed them3:25again in the preceding week.3:26He followed through on that decision after beating Ratkay.3:29His recently born daughter helped shape that choice.3:32Thompson wanted time with his young family rather than more years absorbing damage3:35in the cage.3:36By November11 , his final competition was already approaching with that decision3:40made.3:40At forty-three, he leaves MMA with eighteen victories, including ten by stoppage and3:45two UFC championship challenges.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
