UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley enlisted the help of one of the sport’s most polarizing prospects to help him ready for his UFC 205 title defense against Stephen Thompson.

Given Thompson’s (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) strong karate-based striking background, Woodley (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) added fellow welterweight Sage Northcutt (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to his camp in order to prepare him for some of the looks “Wonderboy” might throw his way on fight night.

Woodley admits that when Northcutt first joined the UFC roster, he was skeptical of him – like many others. “Super” Sage carries an almost unrealistically upbeat personality to go along with frosted tips in his hair and a physique that resembles a comic book character.

These are all surface attributes, though, and once Woodley spent time around Northcutt, he said his perspective on the personality and ability of the 20-year-old fighter took a dramatic shift.

“We all have had our comments about Sage as a fighter,” Woodley said on a recent UFC 205 media conference call. “I think some of the fighters saw his entrance into the UFC and some of the endorsements and some of the things that came with him being so young. We all had something to say, me included. Even training with him I had to bite a couple of my words because he’s way more well-rounded than what I expected.”

Woodley elaborated on what he saw out of Northcutt.

“He’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s fast – he’s a great resource to train with,” Woodley said. “I had to bite my own words. I would say as long as he stays focused and stays true to who he is – because it sounds like everybody wants him to be somebody else – as long as he can do that, I think he has a long way in this sport. People want to compare him to people that are my age. He calls me ‘Mr. Woodley,’ and it feels so weird. I’m like, ‘Man, this kid is (20) years old.'”

UFC 205 takes place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Thompson, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, has a fighting style with which all but one opponent in his career has been unable to deal. He’s recorded seven straight victories at 170 pounds, including wins over the likes of Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks, but trying to parlay that success into a title fight with No. 1-ranked Woodley is a challenge all its own.

Although bringing in specific training partners isn’t always the perfect solution to preparing for a fight against an opponent with a unique style, even Thompson can admit that Woodley’s choice to use Northcutt as a training partner was a good one. However, he doesn’t think it will make a difference in the outcome, because he expects to take the title regardless.

“If you go back and you watch Sage, we do have a similar style,” Thompson said. “He does come from a karate background, he does some of the flashy stuff that I like to do as well. I’m just prepared knowing that Tyron probably has seen some of the stuff that I throw, that I’m going to be throwing. I know Sage, he’s a karate guy and he’s going to go out there and try to do the best Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson he can. That’s OK. I’m ready for it no matter what.”

Woodley may be the UFC champion, but he enters his first scheduled title defense as the betting underdog. He said he’s content with that position, mainly because he’s used to being there and has thrived, such as he did when he scored a first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler to take the belt at UFC 201 in July.

“You don’t fight fights on paper,” Woodley said. “I’ve been the underdog my last six fights I think. I’ve won five of the last six, so I don’t really focus on it. I just go out there and do my deal.”

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