After seemingly testing the waters with anyone he could find other than Stephen Thompson, Tyron Woodley will be defending his UFC welterweight title against “Wonderboy” this upcoming November. Woodley was apparently looking for “Super Fights” that could pay him the big bucks, particularly a potentially returning Georges St. Pierre, but when that fizzled he, he had to settle for the incredibly deserving and obvious number one contender. Woodley won the belt last month by viciously knocking out the then-champion Robbie Lawler in the first round. His challenger, Thompson, earned his shot at the belt by destroying Jake Ellenberger and former champ Johny Hendricks in the first round and then winning a one-sided decision against top-ranked Rory MacDonald. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas had this to say about the bout
Tyron Woodley is a deserving and dangerous champion, having knocked out Robbie Lawler to claim the welterweight crown, but he may have his hands full in Stephen Thompson. Thompson has proven himself as the best striker at 170 pounds. Woodley has explosive power and is an excellent wrestler, but he’s had major difficulty against technical strikers with excellent takedown defense like Rory MacDonald. Thompson uses distance expertly and recently proved he can push a solid pace for five rounds with his last win. I’m opening the title challenger Thompson as a -150 betting favorite because I feel as long as he survives Woodley in the first round and settles in, he’ll be able to control almost every dynamic of the fight.
The lines for the rumored match-up opened via Several Bookmakers late last night. Without further ado: ————————————————————- UFC 206 – Welterweight 5 rounds – location: Madison Square Garden, New York – November 5, 2016 Tyron Woodley +120 Stephen Thompson -150 —————————————————— Click below to bet the fight now! 