UFC Vegas 17 is the final card of what has been a crazy 2020. Despite all of the negative things in the world, 2020 has produced some incredible fights. Tomorrow night’s card is expected to be fireworks.
In the main event of the evening, we have a welterweight contest between Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (15-4-1) and Geoff Neal (13-2). Both of these guys are fighting their first UFC fight of 2020.
Wonderboy was able to get back on the winning side of things last November when he fought Vicente Luque. Prior to the Luque fight, Wonderboy had gone 1-3-1 in his previous five trips inside the octagon.
However, it’s worth noting that all of those fights were against top competition. When he defeated Luque last November at UFC 244, Wonderboy did what he does best. He stayed at range and used his counters to hurt Luque bad in their fight.
Wonderboy was able to drop Luque multiple times on his way to a unanimous decision. Just a few weeks after that fight, Geoff Neal went out and knocked out Mike Perry at UFC 245 in the first round.
Since making his promotional debut back in 2018, Geoff Neal has looked unstoppable. He’s a perfect 5-0 inside the UFC and only one fight has gone the distance. He’s only lost once since 2017 and that was to the rising star, Kevin Holland.
UFC Vegas 17 Prediction
This is such a tremendous matchup, but it’s a very difficult one to pick. With the styles of these two, you’d expect the UFC Vegas 17 to take place completely on the feet. It’s going to be a striking chess match.
Wonderboy is really good about fighting from range and using counters. He’s going to throw a lot of side kicks to try and keep Neal away and keep him from getting comfortable.
Meanwhile, Neal is going to try to use his speed and power to get in and out and land big combinations. While Neal is a finisher, I don’t know if he’s going to be able to get a finish against Wonderboy.
I think we are going to see some very high level striking tomorrow night. To be completely honest, I wouldn’t be shocked by either man winning. However, I think at the moment it’s just Geoff Neal’s time in the UFC.
Tomorrow, I expect him to use his speed to get off just a little more. Ultimately, I think he will be able to score enough points on Wonderboy to get a decision. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if Wonderboy’s range striking gets him the nod.
Prediction: Geoff Neal by Unanimous Decision