Wonderboy's Last Walk: Stephen Thompson Says Goodbye at UFC 334 With a Baby Girl Waiting at Home

Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson has spent most of his adult life in a fighting stance. On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, he plans to take it for the last time. The 43-year-old former welterweight title challenger will face Charles Radtke in the featured preliminary bout at UFC 334, and he has confirmed it will be the final fight of his mixed martial arts career.

The reason he gives is not a bad knee or a bad night. It is a baby girl. Thompson recently became a father, and he has said that fatherhood, more than his physical condition, changed his priorities and made this the right time to walk away. Athlon Sports summed up his new title in a single word: "Wonderdad".

Thompson enters the cage with a professional record of 17-9-1, according to Sherdog. His peak came in two championship fights with Tyron Woodley. The first ended in a majority draw, and the rematch at UFC 209 went to Woodley in a close decision. He never got a third crack at the belt, but he stayed among the most dangerous strikers in the division for years with a karate-based style that few opponents ever solved.

The recent stretch has been harder. Sherdog notes that Thompson is 1-4 over his last five outings and has been out of the cage for 16 months, a fair question mark against an opponent who likes to crowd people. Thompson has acknowledged that accumulated injuries and the shrinking prospect of another title shot also figured into the choice, closing a run of more than a decade in the Octagon.

What he will not do is chase one more payday somewhere else. Thompson has said he will not continue with another promotion after Saturday, ruling out the PFL, though he has left a sliver of room to revisit things as his daughter grows older, and a striking match someday has not been ruled out. His plans include teaching at his martial arts school in South Carolina and more broadcast work.

He told Cageside Press he has no regrets about announcing the farewell ahead of time. Some fighters keep a retirement secret so the weight of the moment does not follow them into the cage. Thompson chose the opposite: he wants the crowd, the walk and the goodbye. Asked about the setting, he put it simply: "What better place to have it?"

Radtke is not there to play the part of a polite farewell opponent. Known as "Chuck Buffalo," he carries a 12-5 record and is 3-2 over his last five, according to Sherdog, and he has built a reputation for an in-your-face style and for spoiling other people's big nights. Sherdog's preview still picks Thompson by decision, though other predictions are split.

For Thompson to close his career with his hand raised, he will likely need the old formula: distance, angles and patience. For Radtke, the plan is to make a 43-year-old who has been away for 16 months fight every second of all three rounds.

The farewell sits on a loaded card. Heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane makes his first title defense against unbeaten Josh Hokit in the main event, and bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison defends against Amanda Nunes in the co-main. Both title fights became official at Friday's weigh-ins: Gane came in at 242.6 pounds and Hokit at 231.4, well under the heavyweight limit, while Harrison hit exactly 135. Terrance McKinney and Juan Diaz missed weight for their preliminary bouts and will forfeit part of their purses.

Combat sports do not hand out many graceful exits. Too often a great fighter stays one fight too long or slips away without saying goodbye. Thompson is doing it the right way: on his own terms, in the most famous arena in the country, and for the best reason a man can have. He has spent years showing that you can be a ferocious competitor and still bow to your opponent, shake his hand and mean it.

Win or lose on Saturday, the most important title in his life now is the one his daughter gave him. Plenty of fans will be pulling for one more spinning kick at the Garden, and plenty of fathers will understand exactly why it is the last one.