Without difficulty, Stephen Thompson controls Geoff Neal and wins the main fight of UFC Las Vegas 17

S. Thompson dominated G. Neal in the UFC Las Vegas 17. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

After going through a difficult time in Ultimate, Stephen Thompson is definitely back. One of the protagonists of the main fight of the UFC Las Vegas 17, held this Saturday (19), the athlete was not aware of Geoff neal and won by points in a unanimous decision by the judges.

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With the result, Thompson reaches his second consecutive victory. In November last year, the athlete had accepted the challenge of facing Vincent Luque and beat the Brazilian, ending a sequence of two setbacks.

Now, Stephen remains consolidated in fifth place in the group led by Kamaru Usman. Ahead of the North American are Jorge masvidal, Leon edwards, Gilbert Durinho, Colby covington and the champion.

In addition to a below-expected performance, in which he was unable to put into practice the strategies that led to him being selected to fight against a top 5 player, Neal ended up losing his unbeaten record in the UFC. The athlete didn't know what it was like to lose five commitments.

The fight

In the first round, the athletes began the duel by studying each other and looking for the best moment to attack. Thompson began to take the initiative, throwing punches and kicks to his rival's head and body. More measured, Neal seemed intimidated by his opponent, while Stephen began to loosen up. Near the end of the round, the athletes had an involuntary head collision, which resulted in each fighter being cut. The fight was stopped so Stephen could be evaluated. Back to the confrontation, the former challenger had the advantage, but there was no more time for attacks.

In the second round, Thompson continued to assert his favoritism in the duel. With the right distance and accurate kicks from the waist line, Stephen tried to undermine the energy of his opponent, who was not involved in the confrontation. Geoff walked towards his opponent with a high guard, but he did not strike efficiently. In the final seconds, Neal landed a series of crosses on his opponent's face, but the former title challenger was unfazed.

The third round began with Thompson taking the initiative again with a high kick. Neal tried to get closer, but continued to be the victim of counterattacks from his opponent. In the hit-and-go game, Stephen continued to act intelligently and began to irritate his opponent. Visibly frustrated, Geoff went all in on his opponent, throwing punches, but Thompson stopped his opponent's momentum, accepting the clinch on the fence. Stephen remained more aggressive and controlled the distance, pushing his opponent away with punches in his greatest karateka style. Even at a disadvantage, Neal tried to react in some way, but the opponent's technical quality prevented his advances.

In the fourth round, Thompson followed the script of the previous robberies. Neal continued to walk forward, but was stopped by jabs and punches from his opponent. Halfway through the round, Geoff closed the distance and took his rival to the cage. Stephen managed to free himself and then attacked Neal with a right and a cross. A straight right from Neal hit Thompson's forehead hard. Still, the former title challenger seemed calm. At the end of the duel, Geoff went back to focusing on the clinch, but there wasn't much action and the clock ran to zero with the fighters in a grappling fight.

UFC Las Vegas 17 results

MAIN CARD

Welterweight Weight: Stephen Thompson derrotou Geoff neal in the unanimous decision of the judges (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Bantamweight: José Aldo derrotou Marlon Vera in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight Weight: Michael Pereira derrotou Khaos Williams in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: Rob font derrotou Marlon moraes by technical knockout at 3m47s of R1

Heavyweight: Marcin tybura derrotou Greg hardy by technical knockout at 4m31s of R2

PRELIMINARY CARD

Welterweight Weight: Anthony Pettis derrotou alex morono in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: Pannie kianzad derrotou sijara eubanks in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Catchweight: Deron Winn defeated Antonio Arroyo in the unanimous decision of the judges (29,28, 29-28, 29-28)

Fly weight: Taila Santos derrotou Gillian robertson in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)

Average weight: Tafon Nchukwi derrotou Jamie Pickett in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-35, 30-36, 30-26)

Fly weight: Jimmy Flick finished cody durden with a triangle 3m18s from R1

Married weight: Christos Giagos defeated Carlton Minus via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-28)