Oli Thompson
Oli Thompson in 2016
Born	Oliver John Thompson (1980-01-02)2 January 1980 (age 46) East Sussex, England
Other names	The Spartan
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	234 lb (106 kg; 16 st 10 lb)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	75 in (191 cm)
Team	ZT Fight Skool
Years active	2009–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	42
Wins	23
By knockout	15
By submission	4
By decision	3
By disqualification	1
Losses	19
By knockout	11
By submission	2
By decision	6
Other information
Occupation	Mixed martial artist Strongman
Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog

Competition record
Strongman
Representing Great Britain
World's Strongest Man
Qualified	2008 World's Strongest Man
IFSA Strongman World Championships
8th	2006
Europe's Strongest Man
Qualified	2004 Europe's Strongest Man
Representing England
Britain's Strongest Man
3rd	Britain's Strongest Man 2004
1st	Britain's Strongest Man 2006
IFSA British Championships
2nd	IFSA British Championships 2005
IFSA England's Strongest Man
3rd	IFSA England's Strongest Man 2005

Oliver Thompson (born 2 January 1980) is an Englishmixed martial artist and retiredstrongman. Thompson currently competes in MMA’sheavyweight division. He has previously competed for major organisations such asUFC,Bellator,KSW, andBAMMA. In 2006, Thompson won the title ofBritain's Strongest Man.

Born in East Sussex to a Northern Irish father and an English mother, Thompson grew up playing rugby union at English county level. He has stated his favourite thing about rugby was weight training. Thus, when he was 19 he joined Physiques gym inBexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex and within a matter of weeks he had broken the gym record for dead-lifting with a 260 kg lift. This prompted him to start to focus more on a strict routine of weight and strength in order to become a strength athlete. He has four children, and lives with his wife and daughters.^{[citation needed]}

Thompson's first competition was the 2001 UK's Strongest Man Qualifier. Although he did not qualify, he gained experience and remained focused on only competing in professional level events. In 2002 he won Kent's Strongest Man, taking first place in 5 out of 6 events. He went on to qualify in 2003 for Britain's Strongest Man ("BSM"), and in 2004 surpassed all expectations when he came third. This earned him the right to compete alongside the top strength athletes in the world at the Moscow Super Series 2004 (known as the 2004 Russia Grand Prix, although in 2004 this was not part of theWSM Super Series and again later in the year atEurope's Strongest Man in Poland).

In 2005 he opted to compete in theIFSABritish Championships which was set up in direct rivalry with the BSM after IFSA parted company with the BSM andWorld's Strongest Man competition organiserTWI. He finished second in that competition toMark Felix.^[1] Like many British strongmen he returned to the TWI British circuit in 2006 and wonBritain's Strongest Man that year. He also competed in the 2006 IFSAWorld Championship where he made the final and came eighth.^[2] Disaster struck in February 2007, whilst he was training for theMohegan Sun Super Series. He was deadlifting and he tore his biceps. Reportedly, he said that it did not hurt. He went on to say"No, there are no nerves in there, it didn’t hurt. I just heard it snap and I was just aware of it. You can feel it come up, but there’s no pain."^[2] Although the biceps was repaired Thompson has reported that it feels different and that "it’s just not quite as smooth." Although he has said that he does not think it will ever be the same, he has also said that: "When I get to a competition, I won’t be holding back because of my arm. I’ve already won Britain’s Strongest Man - you don’t want to go down - you’ve got to try and win Britain’s Strongest Man again or it’s pointless. So I’ve got to win it really. That’ll be how I judge where I go from there - if I win it or not. Second place isn’t something I’ll be chuffed with."^[2] Thompson trained intensively with training partner Scott Reid, the 2007 Britain's Strongest Man in the 105 kg weight class. He went on to qualify for the finals ofBritain's Strongest Man in 2008 and won his heat in the process. However, the injury was too proximate for him to fully challenge for the title in a field that was widely reported to have been one of the strongest ever.

Thompson had been closely associated with IFSA in the past but states that he always did what he wanted to do. Prior to the BSM 2008 he stated that "If I don’t qualify for Britain’s Strongest Man I may well end up doing the IFSA World Championships.".^[2]

As well as Thompson's successful British Finals, he also won the South England Strongest Man Championship three times (2003, 2004 and 2006) and Sussex Strongest Man on three consecutive occasions from 2003 to 2005. He has also competed in a number of Grand Prix events inDubai,Latvia,Hungary.^[2]

Oli Thompson made hismixed martial arts debut on 3 February 2009, defeating Ashley Pollard by a second round arm triangle choke. He has continued to fight since then, On 26 March 2011, after amassing a record of 7–2, with his only losses coming to future UFC HeavyweightRob Broughton and former UFC fighterJoe Vedepo, Thompson took on defendingUCMMA champion Ben Smith at UCMMA 19. Thompson won via second round rear naked choke, becoming the new UCMMA Heavyweight Champion.^[3] He then defended his title at UCMMA 21 - Stand Your Ground against boxer-turned mixed martial artist Mark Potter, again winning by rear naked choke, this time in the first round.^[4]

Thompson signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was expected to make his debut againstPhilip De Fries atUFC 138.^[5] However, Thompson was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced byRob Broughton.^[6]

Thompson made his official debut against UFC newcomerShawn Jordan atUFC on FX 2. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round after a back-and-forth fight.^[7]

Thompson next foughtPhil De Fries atUFC on FOX 4, in his second UFC outing.^[8] He lost via submission in the second round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Thompson headlinedBAMMA 15 againstAlbanian HeavyweightGzim Selmani.^[9] Thompson lost the fight via technical submission (guillotine choke).

Thompson entered theInoki Genome Federation (IGF) World Grand Prix for the vacantIGF Championship and fought in the Quarterfinal against Japanese legendIkuhisa Minowa whom he defeated by Unanimous Decision at Inoki Genome Fight 3. Thompson next foughtChris Barnett in the Grand Prix semifinal atInoki Genome Fight 4 to advance to the Championship match. Oli Thompson defeated Fernando Rodrigues, Jr by TKO in the first round to capture the 2015 IGF World GP and the IGF Championship.

In June 2016, it was announced that Thompson had signed withBellator MMA. He made his promotional debut againstMatt Mitrione on 16 July 2016 atBellator 158. Thompson lost the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the second round.

In his second fight for the promotion, Thompson faced former training partnerCheick Kongo atBellator 172 on 18 February 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

After going 4-2 fighting around the world, Thompson facedSergei Kharitonov at MFP Parus Fight Championship on November 7, 2020. He lost the fight via first-round knockout.^[10]

After losing two bouts on the Croatian regional scene, Thompson facedAdam Wieczorek on September 24, 2022 at MMA Attack 4, losing via TKO stoppage in the third round.^[11]

Thompson facedAleksei Oleinik at REN TV Fight Club: Oleinik vs. Thompson on May 26, 2023, and won via knock out in the first round.^[12]

Thompson facedJosh Barnett atGCW Bloodsport London at the Electric Ballroom on September 28, 2025, losing by way of submission after just under 11 minutes.^[13][14]

• Ultimate Challenge MMA
  • UCMMA Heavyweight Championship (one time)
• Inoki Genome Federation
  • IGF Championship (one time, last)
  • 2015 IGF World Grand Prix Championship
• Road FC
  • Road FC Heavyweight Championship (one time)
• ZT Fight Night
  • ZT Fight Night Heavyweight tournament finalist
• Fight Exclusive Night
  • FEN Heavyweight Championship (one time)

• UFC Profile
• IFSA Strongman rankings
• Pro Muscle Mag interview
• Sherdog MMA Profile
• Oli Thompson from UFC Fans

• 1980 births
• Living people
• English strength athletes
• English male mixed martial artists
• English people of Northern Ireland descent
• Heavyweight mixed martial artists
• Sportspeople from East Sussex
• Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
• 21st-century English sportsmen

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• Articles with unsourced statements from September 2025