Hendricks vs. Thompson plus 3 other bouts added to UFC 196

It’s official!

As if UFC 196 wasn’t already exciting enough with the rematch between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship, fight fans will also get to see former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks face elite level striker Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson according to BloodyElbow.

The bout is a classic battle of styles, with Hendricks likely looking to utilize his elite level wrestling to negate the world class striking of Stephen Thompson.

The fight will be the toughest test yet for Thompson, who sits at #8 on the UFC’s official rankings ladder. With a win over Hendricks, who sits at #3 on the UFC’s official rankings, he will look to make his case for a title shot with what he could make a 6 fight win streak.

Hendricks on the other hand is looking to make his case for another shot at the title he once held. He defeated Matt Brown back at UFC 185, and was then slated to fight Tyron Woodley at UFC 192, but was forced out of the bout after a botched weight cut. With a win over Thompson he will likely look to face the winner of Lawler vs. Condit, which goes down at UFC 195 on January 2nd.

In addition, the UFC added Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt, Josh Burkman vs. KJ Noons, and Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer to the card.