UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa seemed like the perfect evening for Stephen Thompson. The South Carolinian nicknamed "Wonderboy" dominated one of the sport's top welterweights in Rory MacDonald, earning his seventh straight victory and seemingly putting him in line for the winner of the UFC 201 title fight between Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley.
But there's one potential hitch: A thumb injury suffered early in the fight might need surgery, which could put him on the shelf awhile.
"It's pretty painful, I can't put my hand in a glove right now, I can't grab a hold of a wrist, but right now I'm hoping for the best," Thompson (13-1) said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.
Thompson believe the ligament njury occurred in the second round of his unanimous-decision victory, as he attempted to disengage from a clinch.
"Rory had me in a clinch, almost a Thai clinch push and i went to kind of push away," Thompson said. "And I had my thumb, almost between my pointing finger and my thumb, on his forearm. When I went to push away, I pushed away really hard, really thick, but my thumb joint gave way."
"Wonderboy" instantly knew this was more than just a regular bump or bruise.
"During the fight, if you feel something, you know it's pretty bad, because normally you don't feel anything," he said. "You get punched and elbowed in the face, you don't feel it until after the fight. Right then I knew something was wrong with my thumb, because it was hurting really bad."
Thompson awaits the results of an MRI, which will determine whether he'll need surgery and will be on the shelf awhile, or whether it's less severe and surgery can be avoided.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hopefully I won't need surgery and it will be a quick recovery, but, it's pretty painful ... if I need surgery I'll get it over with and begin with that healing process, that's the worst-case scenario."