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'Wonderboy' aiming for spring return vs. top-5 opponent

Josh Hedges / UFC / Getty

Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson hopes he can return to action in a few months after suffering a hand injury during his victory at UFC 244.

"(Rehab) is going good, I'm doing physical therapy right now," Thompson told theScore. "I can actually make a fist with my left hand now, but my right hand, I can't get my thumb down. So it's the tendons in that area that I broke (that) are having a hard time. I've got to stretch it out, those tendons are tight. Hopefully, April, May would be awesome. So that's what I'm shooting for."

Thompson (15-4-1) defeated Vicente Luque at UFC 244 in November, which snapped a two-fight skid. The 36-year-old, who holds a 2017 win over BMF champion Jorge Masvidal, wants a top-five opponent in his return.

"As of right now, pretty much everybody that I would like to fight has fights coming up," Thompson explained. "Rafael dos Anjos is fighting Michael Chiesa, you got Leon Edwards ready to fight Tyron Woodley. Of course, Demian Maia fighting Gilbert Burns. I think the timing is kind of right with me being injured. Let these guys duke it out and see where I go from there."

The South Carolina native doesn't care where he fights next and says his return could coincide with that of his brother-in-law and former middleweight champion, Chris Weidman.

"I think (Weidman) is kind of on the lines of coming back at the same time I am," Thompson added. "He's had some tremendous injuries, close to 30 surgeries. He's looking at (returning) in the same time frame as me. I'm not sure against who, but I hear he wants to go back to 185 pounds."

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