Stephen Thompson closed his career the way only he could — with a spinning wheel kick. The 43-year-old welterweight stopped Charles Radtke by TKO at 2:54 of round three in the featured prelim of UFC 334 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, then laid his gloves down in the Octagon. It was his retirement fight, the final walk for a two-time welterweight title challenger, and it ended with the kind of finish that defined him.
“Stephen Thompson closed his career the way only he could — with a spinning wheel kick.”
The kick landed flush on the side of Radtke's head. Radtke dropped, and referee Marc Goddard stepped in. The official result is a TKO. Some social media posts called it a wheel-kick KO, but the official wording is TKO, and that is the result that goes in the record books.
The fight was close until the finish. Radtke took the first round 10-9, pressing forward and outworking Thompson. Thompson answered in the second, 10-9, finding his range with the side kicks and straight punches that carried him through his career. The third round was still in the balance when the spinning wheel kick — also called a spinning heel kick — ended it.
Thompson had not won since December 2022. He entered the fight on a three-fight losing run, most recently a close split decision to Gabriel Bonfim. The win moves him to 18-9-1; he entered at 17-9-1, with a 12-9-1 record in the UFC. Radtke falls to 12-6, his UFC record now 5-3.
Thompson challenged for the welterweight title twice, both times against Tyron Woodley. He fought at the top of the division for a decade, and the Garden crowd — and Joe Rogan, in tears during the post-fight interview — gave him the send-off his career earned.
The win ends a run of nearly four years without a victory, and it means Thompson retires on a win rather than on a fourth straight defeat. That matters for a fighter who spent a decade at the top of one of the UFC's deepest divisions. He leaves the sport with 18 wins, and with a finish that will be replayed for years — the spinning wheel kick is one of the rarest and most spectacular finishes in the sport, and Thompson landed it in his final fight, in the Garden, with his career on the line.
Radtke came in riding two straight wins, the latest a decision over Francisco Prado. He trains alongside former UFC champion Belal Muhammad, who holds a career win over Thompson. None of that mattered once the kick landed.
The rest of the prelims delivered too. Chris Duncan beat Drew Dober by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, after three full rounds. Terrance McKinney needed less than two minutes, knocking out Jim Miller with strikes at 1:53 of the first round. Miller is the UFC's record holder for the most fights and the most wins in the promotion's history, and the loss does not change that standing — a mark of longevity few fighters will ever approach. McKinney missed weight by 4.2 lb and forfeits part of his purse.
Cesar Almeida stopped Donte Johnson by TKO on strikes at 3:20 of the first round. Melquizael Costa took a unanimous decision over Jared Gordon, 29-28 on all three cards. Bia Mesquita submitted Macy Chiasson with a rear-naked choke at 3:23 of the first round. Juan Diaz swept Heili Alateng on the cards, 30-27 three times over. Evan Elder did the same to Samuel Sanches, winning 30-26 on all three scorecards. Neither fight was ever in doubt on the judges' cards.
The night began early and built steadily. The early prelims started at 2 p.m. PT, the prelims at 4 p.m. PT, and the featured prelim — Thompson against Radtke — closed the preliminary card with the biggest moment of the night so far. Eight fights are in the books, and every one of them produced a finish or a clear decision.
But the night is far from over. The main card begins at 6 p.m. PT on Paramount+, opening with Bilal Hasan vs Luis Gurule, scheduled for around 6:20 p.m. PT — no result yet at the time of writing, and the first fight of the main card has not happened. After that, the card climbs fast: Ciryl Gane defends the heavyweight title against Josh Hokit in the main event, Kayla Harrison defends the women's bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes in the co-main event, Caio Borralho faces Belgaroui, and Uros Medic meets Kevin Holland. Two titles are on the line, and the prelims have already set a high bar for the rest of the night.
Thompson's night is done. His gloves are on the canvas, and the division he helped define moves on without him — but the last image of his career is the one he would have chosen: a spinning wheel kick, landing flush, in the Garden.
