It’s hard to keep Stephen Thompson down – even in defeat.

The longtime UFC welterweight contender opened up about his loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov this past Saturday on the main card of UFC 296 in Las Vegas. Thompson (17-7-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) remains optimistic and in good spirits following his submission defeat to Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

“I appreciate all of your support after the fight this past Saturday,” Thompson said on his YouTube channel. “It obviously didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, and that’s why you should always follow the plan, guys. I didn’t follow the plan. That’s my fault.

“Anyway, I love you guys, and I’ll be back stronger and better than ever. I have some things to work on and get this foot healed up, and we’ll get after it again.”

The loss for the 40-year-old killed the momentum from his TKO win over Kevin Holland and put him at 1-3 in his past four trips to the cage.

As for the foot, “Wonderboy” said he may have broken it.

“That’s what happens when you don’t follow the game plan: You get submitted in the second round,” Thompson said. “I actually came out of the fight pretty much unscathed, other than the fact that I think I broke my foot in a body kick right to the elbow. Don’t kick your opponent to the elbow because that sucks.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.