A welterweight clash pitting Stephen
Thompson against Geoff Neal is
in the works for a UFC event on Dec. 19.
ESPN was first to report the bout. The event takes place at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight tilt
between Leon
Edwards and Khamzhat Chimaev. Thompson vs. Neal has not been
officially announced, but the promotion is close to finalizing the
fight.
Thompson will be making his first Octagon appearance of 2020. The
former title challenger halted a two-bout skid in his last outing
when he took a unanimous decision over Vicente
Luque at UFC 244 in November 2019. “Wonderboy” owns other
notable wins against the likes of Jorge
Masvidal, Rory
MacDonald, Robert
Whittaker, Johny
Hendricks and Jake
Ellenberger.
Neal has won his first five UFC bouts to emerge as a new contender
in the welterweight division. The Contender Series veteran was
supposed to face Neil Magny in
August but was forced to withdraw from the contest for health
reasons. Neal’s resume includes finishes of Mike Perry,
Niko
Price, Frank
Camacho and Brian
Camozzi in the Octagon.