Most of what fans expected came to be this Saturday in the stellar match between Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler. While it was surprising to see the fight go all five rounds, it was not a big surprise to see that Lawler prevailed. Even though this sets him up for a rematch with Johny Hendricks, it was completely overshadowed (in this writers' opinion) by the performance of Anthony Johnson and Bobby Green.
It was a solid night of fights and many were glad to see another great strawweight matchup in anticipation for the upcoming TUF 20 reality series. Gotta give a nod to the UFC and FOX for the nice teaser commercial for the show, but this is how this writer saw the main card from this past Saturday:
The headlining fight was not explosive as we may have wanted but was technical in each and every way. For some they may not like it, for those like myself we welcome it wholeheartedly. Yes it’s always good to see a brawl but when guys are really good at their craft you can’t deny it. Robbie Lawler seems to have about the same game plan with each opponent and against the likes of Brown it worked out pretty nicely. The two had a combined 176 total strikes with 162 of them being “significant”. You could tell the damage early on Brown and he had no answer for the combos displayed by Robbie in the first 3 rounds.
He methodically withstood as much damage as he could including a kick that Brown thought was low but did not warrant a five minute stoppage. Good for the viewers as the last two rounds started to turn in Brown favor. He had eaten every kick and punch he could while delivering a few counters that made their mark on Robbie. Unable to put anything combination wise really together it was only a matter of time before the nod would go in Lawler’s way.
Got to give credit to Brown as he stayed in the fight from the onset and really pushed the pace the entire time. The way these two came out swinging in the 5th provided all the answers you need to see what kind of war this was.This was a fight that Matt Brown needed to have to see how he measured up with the best in the division. He proved without a shadow of a doubt that he is almost there. Hopefully for him the powers that be over at the UFC will remember his streak and how he went the distance to make sure his next fight is a significant one. Good thing about the welterweight division is there are many of those to be had.
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson took no time in dismantling the seasoned Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The hands of Johnson were just too fast for Minotoro and the cage was too small for him to escape. While it had been assumed that Rumble could get a finish, but would be happy with the decision, was clearly wrong. Once he landed a few combos it was evident he was comfortable early and was able to do whatever he wanted. Before Nogueira could get his feet set he was clocked with a few uppercuts that were lights out and that was all she wrote. Who is next for Johnson is yet to be determined.
In the post fight scrum Dana White mentioned that he feels Anthony still needs another fight before we get the title fight talk but who should he face. The easy answer would have been DC but now that he is set to face the champ that could put the UFC in an intriguing position. Does he get to face his own teammate in Rashan Evans? The Bader vs. OSP winner could be reach but not out of the question. If the ranking say anything then we could be looking at a big match up between him and Glover Teixeira which would make the most sense. That way if Jon Jones gets past DC there could still be Jones - Gustafsson rematch before young Rumble has his say. It’s only a matter of time.
Dennis Bermudez more than proved he is foreal submitting Clay Guida who just seems to be on the downside of his career. While it may be the biggest “name” Bermudez has faced I’m sure that won’t be the same case in the next year or two. He owned Guida in every way in that match out striking, grappling, and staying in control up to the finish in the second round. Maybe not a top 5 guy next, but for sure someone close. A match with Nik Lentz or Jeremy Stephens can be on the horizon.
If there were truly any upsets from the main card on Saturday in the eyes of the public it will be the defeat of Josh Thomson by Bobby Green. It was said in this writers' preview that, yes, Bobby Green had the tools to beat “The Punk”, but Josh was better. For those who watched Saturday’s fight you would have thought the exact opposite. Josh looked fine in his work against Green mixing combinations with leg kicks but left a lot open for Green to counter.
Going into the end of the 2nd round Green had the advantage of strikes but even more surprising had stuffed all of Thomson's take downs. For people who had never seen Green fight before, they were treated to something real special Saturday night. The guy is very confident and is a big talker It is unsure how Josh felt during the fight but they were both yapping at each other which turned a very technical fight into a sparring instruction session, especially on Greens' end.
Everything Josh threw was commented on. Green repeatedly let him know if the kick or punch did any damage or if it missed or got him. For some they would not wanted to see this, but watching how Green carefully crafted his attacks while still following instructions from the corner was tremendous.
This puts a big question mark not only in the lightweight class (that already has enough questions) but in the psyche of Josh himself. After almost returning after the Henderson lost and now losing to Green what’s left for “The Punk” to do as this clearly sets him back. A convincing win against Green plus one more puts him back in the driver seat, but now it’s up in the air.
Hopefully now we will see a renewed Green as he looks up at the top of the division with purpose. Maybe he gets Michael Johnson on his return from injury or fans could see a number of names he could face here soon. Regardless, Green just put the top ten on notice confidently and loudly.
A great fight night for the fans of MMA to finish off a great weekend of combat sports. While there were no titles on the line for this night of matches a few answers and new questions have evolved from what we saw. The prelims were laced with good bouts as well as we give a special nod to fighters like the workhorse Patrick Cummins, the very impressive strawweight fighter Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and the nice win by Jorge Masvidal. Next up for the UFC is UFC Fight Night Bader verses Saint Preux.
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