Stephen Thompson (right) has been fighting in the UFC since 2012 and challenged Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title in 2016 and 2017
Stephen Thompson says he will win the UFC welterweight title next year after beating Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 17.
The American, 37, earned a unanimous decision at the UFC Apex, taking his record to 16-4, with one draw.
Thompson, who scored a career-best 171 significant strikes to end Neal’s seven-fight win streak, hopes to challenge for Kamaru Usman’s belt.
“‘Wonderboy’ is still here, baby,” said Thompson. “That title, in 2021, it’s going to be mine. You’ll see.”
Neal, 30, slipped to 13-3 while Thompson earned the Performance of the Night bonus in his first fight for 13 months.
Earlier, Jose Aldo claimed his first win in four fights with a unanimous decision against Ecuador’s Marlon Vera.
The two-time former featherweight champion, 34, is now 29-7 after enjoying his first win since dropping down to bantamweight.
The Brazilian’s defeat by Conor McGregor in December 2015 sparked a run of six losses in nine fights, culminating in a defeat by Petr Yan when fighting for the vacant bantamweight title in July,
“Now that it’s my third fight [at bantamweight], I feel better,” said Aldo.
“I’m getting more confident at this weight. I know I have a long path, so I’m looking at it one step at a time.”
Stephen Thompson says he will win the UFC welterweight title next year after beating Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 17.
