UFC Fight Night: Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal - Tale of the tape

The last UFC event of the year will be headlined by Stephen Thompson vs Geoff Neal on Sunday December 20th at UFC Fight Night 183. 'Wonderboy' is ranked 5th in the division whereas 'Handz of Steel' is ranked 11th at Welterweight.

Stephen Thompson is the older fighter at 37, on the other hand, Neal is just hitting his prime at the age of 30-years-old. Both fighters have an identical reach of 1.91 metres, although Thompson's Karate style utilizes his complete range in his fights.

The only main difference in form is that Neal has won his last 5. Stephen Thompson won his last fight against Vicente Luque but has just two wins in his last five inside the Octagon.

🇺🇸 Wonderboy 𝒗 Handz of Steel 🇺🇸Two top draw strikers headlining the final event of 2020.Who ya got? pic.twitter.com/xQNpMzNPC2

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) December 16, 2020

Stephen Thompson takes on Geoff Neal in the last UFC event of the year

Stephen Thompson is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the UFC. If allowed to execute his game plan, the former kick-boxer is accurate, elusive and clinical.

However, Neal is no slouch on the feet. The Southpaw uses a combination of his left-straight and left-round kicks to set up different attacks against orthodox opponents.

Although, with Wonderboy quickly switching between stances, Neal will need to be wary of the seasoned campaigner. If the Texas native is able to take the fight to the ground, it might suit the 30-year-old.

Geoff Neal fight week. Here’s his vicious head kick KO vs Frank Camacho pic.twitter.com/wtzl8ANpNM

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) December 15, 2020

Speaking ahead of the fight, Stephen Thompson acknowledged that there is a chance Neal might look to take him down:

"At some point, I think he’s gonna use his wrestling. He’s gonna use his strength against me, maybe get me up against the cage, use the cage to try and take me down or to use his dirty boxing. So I got great guys to help me prepare for this fight. Wherever the fight goes, I’m gonna be ready."

Geoff Neal has been in confident mood as well going into the fight:

"I see it how I see all my fights and that is me going for the finish. That is all I want is the finish, that is all I visualize. I don’t want to go to a decision because all that means is you got punched in the face more. I don’t look forward to things like that, I want to go in there and get out quick. But, he is durable so it might go to a decision. My goal is to take him out."