UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal Betting Preview

The final UFC event of the year will take place this weekend with Geoff Neal and Stephen Thompson squaring off in the main event. There won’t be another UFC promotion until January 16, so this is the last time to place your bets on top tier MMA in 2020. Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards were originally supposed to take top billing in this promotion, but both fighters had to pull out two weeks ago after contracting COVID-19.

UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal will be held at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. The prelims for this event will kick off at 4 p.m. ET, and the main card is slated to start at 7 p.m. ET. All the action will be available exclusively through ESPN Plus.

UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal Betting Odds

Geoff Neal -122

Stephen Thompson +102

Neal is only a slight favorite over Thompson this Saturday. He is currently the No. 11 welterweight according to the UFC rankings with a record of 13-2 coming into this fight. Neal has won five straight fights since joining the UFC in February 2018, and four of those five wins were by stoppage. Most of his wins have come by knockout in his career, and his second-round TKO of Niko Price last July earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Thompson is a seasoned fighter currently ranked No. 5 in the welterweight division. He is 15-4 in his career with seven wins by knockout and seven wins by decision. His recent results have not been great though as he is 2-3-1 over the last four years. Thompson wasn’t able to defeat Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Title either time they squared off, and he lost to both Anthony Pettis and Darren Till. However, he has shown a propensity to hang with the big boys with wins over Jorge Masvidal and Vicente Luque, so Thompson is the play.

Jose Aldo -145

Marlon Vera +125

It’s been a rough run for Aldo since he lost the UFC Featherweight Title to Conor McGregor at UFC 194. Aldo held the inaugural featherweight belt for over five years before his loss to McGregor, defending the title seven times and running his record to 25-1 before he lost it. He reclaimed the belt with a win over Frankie Edgar, but he has since lost five of his last seven fights.

Despite his recent results, Aldo is currently ranked No. 7 in the current UFC bantamweight rankings. Meanwhile, Vera is ranked No. 15 coming into this weekend’s fight. Vera is 16-6-1 in his MMA career, and all six of his losses were by decision. He has a habit of finishing fights early, but he does tire from the second round on, so live betting is a nice option for this bout.

Greg Hardy -121

Marcin Tybura +101

After a win over Andrei Arlovski in June 2017, it looked like Marcin Tybura was set to rise in the heavyweight ranks with a record of 16-2. However, he suffered a loss to Fabricio Werdum in his first five-round fight five months later to start a stretch where he lost four of five bouts. Tybura has since rebounded with three straight wins, but he has not been as decisive. All of those wins have come by unanimous decision, and he hasn’t won a fight any other way since March 2017.

Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy continues to try and climb the heavyweight ladder. This will be his third fight of 2020, as he knocked off Yorgan de Castro in May and picked up a second-round TKO of Maurice Greene on Halloween. Hardy is 7-2-1 in his professional career, and only two of his fights have gone the distance.

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