UFC 209: Why Tyron Woodley will retain his title vs. Stephen Thompson

The champ has an even better shot to beat Thompson on Saturday than he did in November

UFC 209 will feature a rematch of a 2016 fight of The year candidate between Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley. When the top two welterweights in the world met back in November at UFC 205 -- New York City’s inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event -- fans were treated to an epic back and forth battle that ended in controversy. Now, both fighters will show who the undisputed champ is atop one of the deepest divisions in the sport.

Here’s a breakdown of why Woodley will walk away with the strap at UFC 209.

1. He’s bigger, stronger, faster: The most one-sided physical attribute -- raw strength -- favors Woodley. He is built like a tree stump and hits like a Mack Truck, but what many people overlook is his speed. Woodley’s ability to spring forward into range and land power shots goes unrecognized. While the gangly kickboxer Thompson is quicker than Woodley inside striking distance, Woodley’s freakish athletic ability caught Wonderboy sleeping twice, leading to a rare 10-8 fourth round.

2. The one shot power: In preparation for UFC 209, Thompson made a conscious decision to put on about 8-10 pounds to deal with Tyron’s strength. Though the added muscle will prove beneficial in the clinch and takedown defense, it’s impossible to bulk up the chin. Woodley bounced Thompson’s head off the canvas with his wicked right hand multiple times. Although Woodley can telegraph his cross at times, 25 minutes is a very long time to find the chin and it only takes one.

3. He’s a fearless warrior: Woodley carries an entire city on his broad shoulders. Born and raised in Ferguson, Missouri, Woodley has been fighting his entire life; it’s in his blood. That extra gear nobody thought the champ had was on display in that crucial 10-8 fourth round when he dug way down and battered Wonderboy like never seen before. With a warrior’s spirit, you can never count out Woodley. He caved in Robbie Lawler’s face in back in July when analysts were calling Lawler the “Boogie Man” of the welterweight division. To Woodley, it was another name on the knockout list.

4. The best is yet to come: While Thompson implores that UFC 205 wasn’t his best showing, it’s easy to say the same for Woodley. He took Thompson down at will but never continued to shoot for takedowns and apply pressure after the first round. Look for early bombs followed by grind-it-out clinch work from the champ. As long as his cardio is slightly better than it was in November, it should be an easy paycheck for Tyron.

5. Stats never lie: The lone takedown of the bout was from Woodley, who significantly out struck Thompson 14-1 in that first round. Woodley nearly doubled Thompson’s strike total (113-60), while Thompson won the “striking from distance” statistic (42-23). The elusive challenger sporadically touched up Woodley with ranged strikes to climb back on the scorecards. Woodley was never in any real trouble; in fact, he had the only two submission attempts and only two knockdowns of the evening. So on paper, Woodley won the fight. The round-by-round scoring system hurt Woodley more than Thompson did at UFC 205.

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