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After failing to secure a fight against Leon Edwards, former UFC welterweight title contender Stephen Thompson has finally found himself an opponent. According to a report from ESPN, Wonderboy will be stepping into the Octagon against Geoff Neal in December.
The UFC is reportedly looking to add the welterweight fight to their December 19th card, as Brett Okamoto first reported. Coincidentally enough, the same card will be headlined by the returning Leon Edwards, who meets UFC sensation Khamzat Chimaev on the night in a huge clash at 170 pounds.
Here is the report from Brett Okamoto on ESPN:
Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal's respective UFC runs
It has been over a year since Stephen Thompson last stepped into the Octagon. The former UFC welterweight title challenger's last fight was at UFC 244 when he outclassed Vicente Luque in a Fight of the Night performance.
Before the win, Thompson faced elite-level competition in the UFC, sharing the Octagon with the likes of Anthony Pettis, Darren Till, and Jorge Masvidal.
Despite having lost to Showtime in March of 2019 and to The Gorilla in 2018, Stephen Thompson still remains in the good books of the UFC's welterweight division. As for his next reported opponent, Geoff Neal, Handz of Steel is currently undefeated in the UFC.
Having signed with the promotion in 2018, Neal has only had a handful of fights in the UFC so far. However, the 30-year-old is yet to taste defeat and already has secured wins over Frank Camacho, Belal Muhammad, and Niko Price. In his last Octagon outing at UFC 245, Geoff Neal put away Mike Perry via first-round TKO.
Geoff Neal was initially set to compete against Neil Magny in August but had to pull out of the fight due to health issues. The reported bout between him and Wonderboy definitely promises fireworks, and the UFC on the 19th December card is shaping up to be a solid one.
