Exactly 23 years after Royce Gracie submitted Gegard Gordeau at UFC 1, mixed martial arts finally made its way to the Big Apple and Madison Square Garden for arguably the biggest event in UFC history, hosting three championship fights on one card. Meeting expectations on all fronts, fight fans across the world were able to witness Conor McGregor make history by becoming the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC.

But the fight that received the most attention -- a 2016 fight of the year candidate -- was the night’s co-main event between Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. The fight left fans clamoring for more as the two went the distance through five grueling rounds of battle. After an Oscar-worthy mix up that was originally awarded as a split decision victory for Woodley, the bout was officially ruled a majority draw, leaving the New York crowd in a state of confusion.  

Now, less than four months later, these two men find themselves squaring up again to settle the score. This time, the two will meet toe-to-toe in Las Vegas as they headline UFC 209 on Saturday, March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena. However, unlike UFC 205, there will be a winner -- and his name will be Wonderboy.

Here are the keys for Wonderboy to secure his first ever UFC welterweight title.

1. Keep the fight standing: Getting Thompson to the mat may not be as easy as Woodley would like this time around. Unlike the first fight, Thompson should be able to successfully stand and keep distance with his various kicks that should keep Woodley uncomfortable and unable to shoot for takedowns. Wonderboy admitted to WFAN’s “Outside the Cage” in a recent interview that it wasn’t his best night that Saturday in November. Thompson was a bit uncomfortable, which led to a major takedown in the first round. “The kick that he ended up catching was a very lazy leg kick,” Thompson said.

Wonderboy promised that he wouldn’t be that careless the second time around against Woodley. In their first fight, 97 percent of Thompson’s significant strikes that landed came from the distance position compared to just 37 percent for Woodley. If that’s the case and Thompson successfully finds ways to stand and keep distance, he should be able to outpoint Woodley easily.

2. The more rounds, the better: Conditioning does not seem to be an issue for Thompson. November’s bout was the second in a row Thompson went the distance in a five-round fight. Thompson saw himself on his back most of the first round, yet it looked like it was Woodley who needed to catch his breath after punching himself out in the first. Woodley’s aggressiveness seems to put him in harm’s way as his recovery time takes that much longer. Expect Thompson to take advantage after coming off of a round that Woodley has thrown a significant amount of punches.

3. Avoid the right hand: Simply put, Thompson told WFAN’s “Outside the Cage” the following regarding Woodley: “If he’s going to hurt me with anything, it’s going to be that right hand.”

Woodley has other weapons, but his most dangerous is his right hand. He didn’t land it often in the first fight, but when he did, Thompson went down hard. If Thompson can keep clear of Woodley’s right hand, Wonderboy will be raising his hand in victory Saturday night.

You can listen to Pete Hoffman and Isaac Feldman as they preview UFC 209 on WFAN’s “Outside the Cage” below.