The UFC’s final event of 2020 will still be headlined by a welterweight fight.
Originally, UFC Vegas 17 was supposed to see Leon Edwards take on Khamzat Chimaev in the main event. However, on Tuesday it was revealed the Englishman was out of the fight due to testing positive for COVID-19. Now, multiple sources have told BJPENN.com that Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal will be the main event and will be five rounds. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
Stephen Thompson is coming off a decision win over Vicente Luque back at UFC 244. The victory snapped his two-fight losing skid after being knocked out by Anthony Pettis and suffered a controversial decision to Darren Till. Since the win over Luque, he has been recovering from injuries. “Wonderboy” is currently ranked fifth in the welterweight division and holds notable wins over Jorge Masvidal, Rory MacDonald, Robert Whittaker, and Johny Hendricks. In his career, he has fought five rounds four times and has been in the main event six times.
Geoff Neal, meanwhile, is coming off a first-round knockout win over Mike Perry at UFC 245 last December. He was supposed to fight Neil Magny earlier this year but was forced out of the fight with an illness. He is ranked 11th in the division and has notable wins over Niko Price and Belal Muhammad. This will also be the first time he will headline a UFC show.
Despite losing the main event, the UFC Vegas 17 card is still a solid card. Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal is also a very intriguing main event.
With Thompson vs. Neal as the main event, UFC Vegas 17 is now as follows:
Main Card
- Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
- Marcin Tybura vs. Greg Hardy
- Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font
- Misha Cirkunov vs. Ryan Spann
- Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
Preliminary Card
- Khaos Williams vs. Michel Pereira
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Manel Kape
- Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima
- Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
- Aiemann Zahabi vs. Drako Rodriguez
- Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
- Rick Glenn vs. Carlton Minus
Who do you think will win, Stephen Thompson or Geoff Neal?