UFC 143 Results: Stephen Thompson Emerges as Legit Threat

If you're in the UFC community and didn't know who Stephen Thompson was before Saturday night, you probably do now. 

In his first UFC fight, Thompson dropped Dan Stittgen with a shot that was as impressive to hear as it was to see. If happened fast so if you looked away for a second, you missed it. Still, if you looked away, you heard a loud crack, looked back at the screen and saw Stittgen lying knocked out on the mat. 

That tells you all you need to know about Thompson's future in the sport. 

When you have a martial arts background like Thompson does, it gives you the ability to end a fight with one punch or kick. That is precisely what we saw on Saturday. 

You can't get close to him. If you do, you can't be nearly as aggressive in going for a win. The last thing you want to be in MMA is tentative. But you can't be anything else when facing a guy that can end a fight in such a hurry. You have no choice but to at least keep your guard up, which will prevent you from gaining any offensive momentum.

It is a vicious cycle for opponents, but one that Thompson just showed they cannot avoid. His knockout of Stittgen was absolutely brutal. 

It was his first fight in UFC, which led to some natural doubt as to whether of not his martial arts skills will translate to that world. After all, it is a much different kind of fight.

In one round in a UFC Octagon, Thompson definitively showed that his skills will translate. Anyone watching the fight noticed it. More importantly, future opponents noticed it.

This is a name to remember, you will be hearing it on the big stage very soon.

Photo Courtesy of MMAWeekly.com.

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