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Stephen Thompson Opens as Betting Odds Favorite Over Tyron Woodley

September 18, 2016 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris

The early betting lines have opened for the scheduled welterweight title bout between UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson set for UFC 205 at 5Dimes Sportsbook. MMAOddsBreaker.com reports that challenger Stephen Thompson has opened as the -150 favorite over the +120 underdog over Woodley.

Woodley was also previously the betting underdog for his UFC 201 title bout against former champion Robbie Lawler. It was recently announced that Woodley will face top welterweight contender Thompson for UFC’s upcoming debut in New York at the Madison Square Garden. Similarly, Woodley has also been the betting underdog in his fights against Carlos Condit, Rory MacDonald, Dong Hyun Kim, Kelvin Gastelum. He won all of those fights except his fight with MacDonald.

Speaking on the fight, MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas stated: “Tyron Woodley is a deserving and dangerous champion, having knocked out Robbie Lawler to claim the welterweight crown, but he may have his hands full in Stephen Thompson. Thompson has proven himself as the best striker at 170 pounds. Woodley has explosive power and is an excellent wrestler, but he’s had major difficulty against technical strikers with excellent takedown defense like Rory MacDonald. Thompson uses distance expertly and recently proved he can push a solid pace for five rounds with his last win. I’m opening the title challenger Thompson as a -150 betting favorite because I feel as long as he survives Woodley in the first round and settles in, he’ll be able to control almost every dynamic of the fight.”

UFC 205 is set for November 12 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The main card will be broadcast live on PPV. Prelims will be shown on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.