MMA Preview – Stephen Thompson vs Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 199
STEPHEN THOMPSON VS BELAL MUHAMMAD FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 199? Saturday 18th December, 2021 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 199? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 199? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC Fight Night 199 on? BT Sport 3
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 199? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
STEPHEN THOMPSON VS BELAL MUHAMMAD LOWDOWN
Stephen Thompson (16-5-1) is approaching his 40’s but still battling it out with some of the best welterweights in the world. After his decision loss to Darren Till (2018) which could have easily gone his way and the shock knockout loss to Anthony Pettis (2019) to make it three losses in his last four, he picked off two top contenders with vintage classy unanimous decisions – Vicente Luque (2019) and Geoff Neal (2020). He then got subdued and outpointed by Gilbert Burns (2021) who was coming off that humbling title fight and TKO loss courtesy of Kamaru Usman.
Belal Muhammad (19-3(1)) has only lost once in his last 11 which is a feat in the welterweight division. His last loss was a unanimous decision to Neal (2019) and has since collected wins over Curtis Millender (2019), Takashi Sato (2019), Lyman Good (2020) and Dhiego Lima (2021) before receiving a nasty eye poke from Leon Edwards (2021) forcing a ‘no contest’. He was getting outclassed in that fight so did not earn an immediate rematch but returned three months later in June to earn another unanimous decision over Demian Maia.
STEPHEN THOMPSON VS BELAL MUHAMMAD PREDICTION
Thompson struggled with the wrestling, power and pressure of Burns and was too reactive. That loss could be the perfect preparation for Muhammad or Muhammad can inflict similar pain capitalising on an ageing body.
Muhammad does not quite have the power of Burns and certainly not the jiu-jitsu, but he does have the wrestling and cardio to cause Thompson some problems. He has to try and close the distance and pressure him up against the cage, but that is a lot easier said than done.
Wonderboy is incredibly illusive still so if Muhammad does attempt to enforce some grappling, he has to be persistent with his pressure. Thompson’s movement and takedown defence may even scare off any takedown attempts forcing a stand-up battle, where Thompson will stretch away with his skill.
Muhammad is a decent striker and will be competitive in batches but he is not on Wonderboy’s level although few fighters are technique wise. Unless Muhammad can enforce a clinch or takedown to control portions of the fight, Wonderboy will continually offload an array of strikes, picking him apart from range to sway the judges.
Prediction: Thompson via Decision
