UFC 209 Preview: Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson

Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson
UFC Welterweight Championship Bout – 5 Rounds
Fighting for the coveted UFC welterweight belt in a high stakes rematch will be champion, Tyron Woodley (16-3-1), and Stephen Thompson (13-1-1) as they headline the UFC 209 pay per view. The two talented and dynamic strikers return to face one another in a “Chapter 2” following their majority draw this past November at UFC 205. There, in a “Fight of the Night” performance as the co-main event of the history-making show at Madison Square Garden the pair of elite fighters put on a tremendous back-and-forth match very fitting of the historic MSG backdrop.

Ironically, two fights were fought in that welterweight match. The first five minutes were Woodley’s who clearly dominated thanks to his powerful wrestling, clean top control & assertive ground and pound and then a battle of wills materialized for the next 20 minutes. Woodley scored the bigger, more telling shots clearly hurting his man especially in the championship minutes with a colossal 4th round right hand, almost putting a visibly hurt Thompson away via guillotine choke. However, the come-forward and more strategic approach was clearly “Wonderboy’s” as he befuddled his foe with lengthy strikes from just outside of range and backed him up along the cage numerous times until the final bell sounded.
They both had their moments and both were balanced as far as Octagon control and game planning so another 25 scheduled minutes of action between these two resourceful and calculated combatants isn’t a bad thing whatsoever.

Once the Missouri native could not finish Thompson, Stephen peppered him from the outside using angles to stay alive so, for this second time out Woodley needs to simply return to his bread and butter: wrestling. The former Strikeforce title challenger has the background since he excelled in college and is a Division I All-American . The opening stanza at UFC 205 was undoubtedly his and it’s no coincidence that Thompson’s only Octagon defeat came via Matt Brown’s insistence of planting him on the mat, keeping him there and walking away with the unanimous decision verdict. Woodley is a sharper version of Brown with allot less miles on those tires plus even more power in his hands and feet. The recipe is there for the Ferguson fighter to wrestle, grapple and ground and pound his way to a decision – even if it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as his KOs of former champions, Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, and brutal stoppages of Josh Koscheck and Dong Hyun Kim.

It’s funny to think that the South Carolina native’s path to the world title could have never happened or maybe taken a completely different route going back 5 years ago. Already a pro, he was offered to fight in the Octagon for UFC 143 in Las Vegas February of 2012. Thompson wanted to turn down the fight feeling that he lacked preparation and needed some more tweaking of his game but his father talked him into accepting the match. He not only won via highlight reel stoppage in Round 1 but scored the confidence needed to know that he was ready to swim in the deep end of MMA.
Stephen Thompson has lost only 1 out of his 10 UFC battles. The lone loss being a decision verdict in 2012 to Matt Brown in Atlanta. Half of his UFC victories have come by way of finish and he is undefeated when fighting in Las Vegas. The man with a kickboxing record of (57-0 with 40 KOS) has showcased an exceptional karateka style of fighting inside the cage with precise, pristine and lethal combinations. His greatest finishes came over Top 15 and Top 10 opponents as seen in his demolitions of former UFC welterweight champion, Johny Hendricks and heavy hitter, Jake Ellenberger. Nonetheless, Thompson showed his great footwork and movement plus ability to set up strikes as he battered Rory MacDonald cruising to a unanimous decision verdict.

This fight is not just for the UFC welterweight title but to control the leverage, shots and money flow for the winner moving forward with his career. The return of ex-division ruler, Georges St. Pierre from his hiatus and former Strikeforce champion, Nick Diaz from his suspension can set up big money fights for the man victorious on Saturday night if he could lure one of those two household names in the cage. Or, maybe even choose to jump up a division for a second belt since this is the new fad in MMA?

Tyron Woodley (+130) has been an underdog in 6 of his last 7 matches so him being one again against Stephen Thompson (-150) is no surprise at all. What won’t be a surprise is that the odds are in the favor of the fans who will get to enjoy another action-packed bout when the UFC 170-pound belt is on the line for the UFC 209 main event from the T-Mobile Arena in las Vegas.