Stephen Thompson says champ Tyron Woodley won't be ready for karate style at UFC 205

NEW YORK – Stephen Thompson has been a difficult challenge to overcome for nearly everyone he’s faced so far in his UFC career. He doesn’t anticipate that trend to change when he fights UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the UFC 205 co-headliner.

Despite Woodley’s (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) decision to train with karate specialist Sage Northcutt in preparation for Saturday’s pay-per-view co-headliner, which follows prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass at Madison Square Garden in New York, Thompson (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) doesn’t think the champion has made up enough ground to be prepared for his unorthodox style of fighting.

“I don’t think he’s ready, to be honest with you,” Thompson said at today’s UFC 205 open workouts. “Sage Northcutt is a good karate guy but we still have a lot of differences between each other’s style. It’s very difficult to figure out and adapt to once you’re out in the octagon.”

Thompson, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, will bring a seven-fight winning streak into UFC 205, which includes victories over names such as Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger.

“Wonderboy” doesn’t expect No. 1-ranked Woodley to be able to slow down his momentum and octagon dominance, and no matter if it’s a first-round knockout or a five-round “Fight of the Night” style war, Thompson said he’s going to leave UFC 205 with the welterweight championship in his possession.

“Every time I visualize this fight (and) I don’t like to make predictions; I will go five rounds, but every time I visualize this fight I get the belt wrapped around my waist and get my hand raised,” Thompson said.

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.