UFC planning Stephen Thompson-Geoff Neal fight for Dec. 19 card

The Dec. 19 UFC show will be the promotion's final card of the year and is scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight fight between rising star Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards. 

A different contest in the division could soon be added to the event. 

ESPN's Brett Okamoto reported on Wednesday afternoon that the UFC is close to signing a welterweight contest between Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (15-4-1) and Geoff Neal (13-2). 

Thompson, who turns 38 years old in February, is No. 5 in the official UFC rankings in the division but will have gone more than 13 months between fights when he returns to the octagon. He defeated Vicente Luque via unanimous decision on Nov. 2, 2019, to end a two-match losing streak. 

Neal, No. 11 at welterweight, hasn't yet tasted defeat in the UFC and holds a perfect 6-0 record in the promotion. The 30-year-old beat Mike Perry last December.

Perry, meanwhile, will face veteran Tim Means during the UFC 255 pay-per-view on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Neal was supposed to make his 2020 UFC debut against Neil Magny in August but withdrew from that fight because of what was later described as severe septic shock, per ESPN. Neal later claimed that he almost died while in critical condition due to an infection.