Stephen Thompson busted his shin wide open during a defeat at UFC Nashville on Saturday night.But, unfortunately for the UFC’s oldest fighter, that wasn’t the only painful thing he left the Bridgestone Arena in Tennessee with.Thompson was outpointed by Gabriel Bonfim at UFC Nashville on SaturdayGettyThompson, 42, suffered a razor-thin split decision defeat to Gabriel Bonfim, who was 15 years younger than his opponent, in the co-main event of UFC Nashville.Bonfim was dragged to deep waters by his veteran opponent during the three-round fight, but the Brazilian, now 18-1 in professional MMA, ultimately did enough in the eyes of the judges.He edged the last round to secure the decision win, with all three judges scoring the contest 29-28 in the younger fighter’s favour.Thompson’s defeat marked the first time the American had suffered three defeats in a row in his UFC career.However, it was the grotesque cut the South Carolina native sustained during the bout that has since stolen all of the headlines.With 30 seconds to go in round two, Thompson threw a trademark leg kick at Bonfim.But the Brazilian did well to defend, check the strike, and counter with a straight left that floored his opponent.‘Wonderboy’ got straight back up to his feet, but not before realising the devastating wound he had just received on his left shin.“Oh, he’s busted his shin open. That got checked,” former UFC champion Daniel Cormier uttered.Thompson, surprisingly, then finished the round swinging on the front foot before fans were treated to a gruesome replay.WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGESThompson’s shin was split open when Bonfim checked his leg kickGetty/TNT SportsThe result was nastyTNT SportsA replay that would make any hardcore MMA fan squirm showed how Thompson’s shin instantly split open when Bonfim defended the kick.“It was just a perfect check from Bonfim,” UFC commentator Laura Sanko said.“I mean, it’s bad. It is a deep, deep gash… that thing is nasty.”Cormier chimed in: “Oh my god, that’s disgusting. I don’t want to see it.”Bonfim was stunned in the third and final round once Thompson had regrouped, but the 27-year-old utilised his grappling in the final minutes to steal the win.‘Wonderboy’ lost to top-ranked welterweights Joaquin Buckley and Shavkat Rakhmonov in his previous two fights, with his last victory a stoppage win over Kevin Holland in December 2022.All three judges scored the contest 29-28 in Bonfim’s favourGettyView Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFCNashville?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHe still has two fights remaining on his UFC contract, and confirmed to MMA Junkie ahead of UFC Nashville that he has no plans to stop anytime soon.Thompson took to social media after his defeat to clear up details on his injury.“Nashville you are amazing!” he wrote.“To my fans, I love y’all!! Thank you for your love and support always.“Pops, thank you for always being in my corner, love you! To my team back home, thank you for all of your help for this fight camp.I felt great out there. Thank you to my team, Paradigm Sports, for always taking care of me!Thompson showed why he is a true veteran of the sport at UFC NashvilleGetty “Also, shout out to the UFC Docs for stitching me up! Shin is split to the bone, so time to focus on healing up!”Elsewhere on the Nashville card, Derrick Lewis knocked out Tallison Teixeira in the main event, while Steve Garcia, Morgan Charriere, Vitor Petrino, and Tuco Tokkos all picked up wins.