Stephen Thompson praises Conor McGregor, reveals he’s back to his old karate stance

Stephen  Wonderboy Thompson recently opened up about his time spent alongside Conor McGregor during the filming of TUF Season 31.

As a coach on the show, Thompson had the opportunity to work closely with the notorious MMA superstar and gain insights into his personality and work ethic.

According to Thompson, McGregor is a natural showman, both on and off the camera. He can switch his personality and attitude instantly, which is something that Thompson found quite impressive.

McGregor’s voice gets louder, and he appears to be 20 pounds heavier when the camera is on him. He knows how to move forward and make himself look bigger, which is all part of his persona. But Thompson says that McGregor carries it off with great style and panache.

Despite his showmanship, Thompson speaks highly of McGregor’s off-camera personality. He says that McGregor is a great guy to work with and has a pleasant demeanor. He may act tough and intimidating in front of the camera, but person-to-person, McGregor is friendly, easy-going, and a pleasure to be around.

Thompson also went on to reveal McGregor is back to his karate stance.

Wonderboy told submission radio

“One, for somebody to come off of an injury like that, this guy, like his mindset was like, it didn’t even happen. That injury didn’t even happen. And he’s getting back to his roots, his karate kind of like stance. He’s never taken karate in his life, but he’s trained with a lot of karate (guys) and that’s kind of where he got that, his movement from.”

That karate stance is widely attributed as having cost McGregor against Dustin Poirier in their second bout. Poirier chopped at McGregors legs prior to landing a TKO combo and getting the finish.

Thompson is currently 3-2 in his last five and is eagerly waiting for his next matchup. While he spends most of his time coaching at his own gym, he also participated in TUF 31 alongside McGregor. McGregor is currently coaching opposite Michael Chandler on the show, and the two will eventually face off.

Wonderboy is represented by Paradigm – a company co-owned by McGregor and his manager Audie Attar. Back when it was first announced that McGregor would be coaching there was some concern about McGregor bringing in Dillon Danis and ADCC winner Gordon Ryan even tried to get in on the action.