UFC 244 results: Stephen Thompson makes statement with win over Vicente Luque

In case there were any doubters — and going in, there sure seemed to be — Stephen Thompson is still very much a factor in the UFC welterweight division.

The two-time title challenger returned to vintage “Wonderboy” form as he picked apart one of the division’s hottest fighters in Vicente Luque on the main card of UFC 244. The judges’ scores at New York’s Madison Square Garden were 30-26, 30-26, and 29-27 as Thompson (18-6-1 MMA, 11-2 UFC) took a unanimous decision.

“He was a tough guy, man. I hit him as hard as I could and he kept coming forward,” Thompson said.

Luque (17-6-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC) had his strongest round in the first, a stanza which was largely a matter of feeling one another out. Luque’s game is based on eating a shot to land a couple good ones, and toward the end, the Brazilian had his best moments of the fight, stunning Thompson with a right the head and following up with a punishing body shot.

But Thompson made the necessary adjustments in round two, and over the final two rounds, put on an absolute kickboxing clinic. Stance switching kept Luque guessing, as did a wild mix of strikes, from two-punch combos to wheel kicks. Luque did his best to press forward, but as the blows added up, he slowed.

Thompson dropped Luque on multiple occasions in the final round, and it was to Luque’s credit that he simply survived to the final horn.

“I’m ready to come into this cage to fight as hard as possible,” Thompson said. “That’s what I’m focused on. If the knockout happens, it happens.”

Thompson’s seventh career decision victory snapped a two-fight losing streak. Luque had a six-fight win streak end with his fifth career decision loss.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 244 results include:

• Stephen Thompson def. Vicente Luque via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
• Derrick Lewis def. Blagoy Ivanov via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Kevin Lee def. Gregor Gillespie via KO (head kick) — Round 1, 2:47
• Corey Anderson def. Johnny Walker via (TKO) punches – Round 1, 2:07
• Shane Burgos def. Makwan Amirkhani via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:42
• Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brad Tavares via knockout (punches – Round 1, 2:27
• Jair Rozenstruik def. Andrei Arlovski via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:29
• Katlyn Chookagian def. Jennifer Maia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lyman Good def. Chance Rencountre via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:03
• Hakeem Dawodu def. Julio Arce via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)