Thompson confirmed weeks ago that his UFC 334 bout against Charles Radtke will be the last of his career, and at media day he told Cageside Press he has no regrets about announcing it publicly. If anything, he said, it has freed him. Thompson admitted that across years of fight weeks and walkouts, he often moved through the biggest moments of his career without really absorbing them, his focus too narrow to take them in. Calling this one his last, he said, has allowed him to be fully present for it, and he is not planning a farewell speech, preferring to let whatever he feels come out honestly in the cage.
The decision itself was shaped by life outside the Octagon. Thompson became a father to a baby girl earlier this year, and he has said that changed his priorities and made stepping away an easy call. He has also acknowledged that he no longer sees a realistic path back to the title, and the Radtke fight is the final bout on his current contract. He has left the door open to other competition, such as grappling or wrestling events, but his MMA career ends on Saturday.
He chose his last opponent deliberately. Thompson has said he handpicked Radtke because he wants to give an unranked fighter the same kind of opportunity established names once gave him on his way up, and he has described Radtke as an aggressive opponent who will come forward and make it a real fight. That suits a career built on reading distance and making opponents pay for chasing him. It will not be a victory lap: Thompson, 17-9-1, has lost five of his last six, and his last win came against Kevin Holland in December 2022.
What he leaves behind is already secure. A kickboxing standout before he ever fought in MMA, Thompson brought a side-stance karate style to the UFC’s top level and made it work against the best in the world, beating names including Johny Hendricks, Jorge Masvidal and Kevin Holland, earning eight post-fight bonuses and twice challenging Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title. The first of those fights came at Madison Square Garden in 2016, and the setting for his last walk has not been lost on his former rival: Woodley has publicly backed Thompson ahead of his final appearance.
UFC 334 takes place Saturday, November 14, at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Ciryl Gane’s heavyweight title defence against Josh Hokit and Kayla Harrison’s women’s bantamweight title fight with Amanda Nunes. Somewhere on that card, one of the sport’s most respected and best-liked fighters will take his final walk, and this time he intends to remember every step of it.
