Stephen Thompson (USA) vs Belal Muhammad (USA)
UFC APEX (Las Vegas)
On the night of December 19, another UFC Fight Night will take place in Las Vegas. In the co-main event of the evening, American fighters Stephen Thompson and Belal Muhammad will meet.
The fight will take place in the welterweight division. Stephen Thompson is ranked number five in the official UFC heavyweight division challenger rankings, while Belal Muhammad is #10.
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Stephen Thompson: tough kickboxer, but hasn't won early in a long time
In his previous fight, Thompson fought Gilbert Burns (ranked #2 at the time), and should he have won, he would have gotten another shot at the title (against Kamaru Usman). But he lost to Burns, giving up the first (cautious) round and the third (fiery, in exchanges).
Stephen did a couple of great things to Gilbert with his trademark roundhouse kick, even knocking him down. Thompson came to MMA from karate and kickboxing where he also achieved a lot.
In professional kickboxing, Thompson has a perfect 57-0 record. And so he has about half of his MMA victories by knockout. Still, Stephen has not had a single early victory in the last five years.
«Kamaru Usman has to face me because he's run out of opponents. There are no fighters in the division that can stand up to him. If I do my job in my upcoming fight with Belal Muhammad, I'll have a title shot very soon. But until Usman fights me, to me Georges St. Pierre is the best fighter in welterweight history».
Stephen Thompson
Belal Muhammad: on a good winning streak
Belal is on a streak of five straight wins, not including his bout with Leon Edwards, which was stopped due to an accidental poke in the eye. But his opposition was frankly weaker than Thompson's, so it's no surprise that he goes underdog in this fight. One only wonders why so big.
In his last fight, Muhammad won by decision over Demian Maia, giving him only the first round by virtue of missing a takedown. But in the second and third rounds, Belal worked on his mistakes, avoided the fight to the ground and successfully outworked his opponent on his hands.
«If we talk about Covington, yes, I really don't like him. I hate him, and when I see him somewhere I feel like punching him in the face. So after I deal with Thompson, I want my opponent to be Colby or Leon, who I have unfinished business with».
Belal Muhammad
Tale of the tape
Before making a prediction, it is very useful to compare the objective performance of the fighters. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the level of their previous opposition.
| Measurement | Thompson | Muhammad |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 38 | 33 |
| Height (cm) | 183 | 178 |
| Arm reach | 191 | 183 |
| Leg reach | 104 | 102 |
| Record | 16-5 | 19-3 |
| Early wins | 8 | 5 |
| Last fight | Jul 10, 21 | Jun 12, 21 |
Expert Betting Tips
Thompson needs, really needs to try and get another title shot at the end of his career, and Belal Muhammad certainly doesn't look like an insurmountable opponent. Stephen's advantage will of course be in the standup and the fact that he is very good at winning on points. We probably shouldn't expect a knockout in this fight, but Thompson is clearly the favorite.
1xbet offers some interesting options on this fight:
W1 for 1.40;
W2 for 3.00;
Thompson Points Victory for 2.04;
W1 KO/TKO/DQ for 4.54;
Total Over (2.5) for 1.31;
Total Under (2.5) for 3.40.