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Stephen Thompson faces Jorge Masvidal at UFC 217 at the Madison Square Garden in New York on November 4th, 2017. The event will be headlined by the middleweight title bout between champion Michael Bisping and former UFC welterweight king Georges St. Pierre, but this welterweight showdown could steal the thunder.
Coming off Losses
Thompson will be fighting for the first time since back to back title fights against UFC welterweight champ, Tyron Woodley. Wonderboy came within a whisker of winning the belt twice, earning a majority draw at UFC 205 and then dropping a 48-47, 48-47 and 47-47 majority decision loss to Woodley during their rematch at UFC 209. Prior to those two bouts, the South Carolina native won an impressive nine consecutive bouts.
Masvidal is also coming off a loss, having been beaten by Demian Maia at UFC 211. Prior to that defeat, Masvidal went on a three fight winning streak, beating Ross Pearson, Jake Ellenberger and Donald Cerrone in succession. Gamebred’s last 8 fights record of 4-4 is very deceptive. He has been silently climbing the ranks and improving his game. Masvidal has been waiting for a big opportunity like this and you bet he’s going all out.
Odds and Prediction
Wonderboy Thompson is currently the favorite at -155 ,while Jorge Masvidal is the underdog at +135.
This pick’em fight should be a good one and has the potential to be the fight of the night. Wonderboy is a decorated kickboxer who also has good power in his punches. Thompson’s legs are long while his kicks and punches are strong, making him a dangerous opponent in standup striking. When he gets taken down, though, he isn’t as good on his back.
Masvidal is a brawler who lands powerful punches in the stand up. He’s one of the tougher fighters in the division owing to his Miami street fighting background. Gamebred is also quick and athletic enough to land takedowns plus he has good grappling skills. Thompson should have a handful against Masvidal standing up but when the fight goes to the ground, it’s got to be Masvidal’s fight to win.
Thompson will look for the quick win here but given that Masvidal has been knocked out only once in his 12 losses, it’s going to be frustrating. Masvidal, meanwhile, will try to make this ugly, whether on the feet or on the ground. He’s gonna try and make Thompson do other things aside from striking. This fight should go the distance with Masvidal winning by a narrow decision. We’re going with the upset here and picking Masvidal to win on points.
