UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will open as a betting underdog in his first title defense.

Woodley (16-3) has been pegged a slight, plus-120 underdog in his scheduled title fight against Stephen Thompson (13-1) at UFC 205 on Nov. 12 in New York. Thompson is listed a minus-150 favorite.

Betting lines were provided by Nick Kalikas of MMAOddsBreaker.com.

Fighting out of St. Louis, Woodley, 34, won the title in a first-round knockout over Robbie Lawler at UFC 201. He has opened a betting underdog in six consecutive fights. He is 5-1 in those bouts.

"Tyron Woodley is a deserving and dangerous champion, but he may have his hands full in Stephen Thompson," Kalikas told ESPN.com. "Thompson has proven himself as the best striker at 170 pounds. Woodley has explosive power and excellent wrestling, but he has had difficulty against technical strikers with excellent takedown defense.

"Thompson uses distance expertly and recently proved he can push a solid pace for five rounds. I'm opening the title challenger Thompson as a favorite because I feel as long as he survives Woodley in the first round and settles in, he'll be able to control almost every dynamic of the fight."

Thompson, who fights out of Simpsonville, South Carolina, is a former professional kickboxer with seven career MMA wins via knockout. His only loss came via decision to Matt Brown in April 2012.