UFC on FOX 12 has come and gone from the SAP Center in San Jose, California and what a night it was.
In the main event, Robbie Lawler earned himself number one contender status with a unanimous decision victory against Matt Brown. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, but the fight was a lot closer than the scorecards read. Brown had Lawler stunned at one point in the fight, however “Ruthless” was able to weather the storm and continue to pick his punches and that won him the fight.
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson made a statement to the rest of the light heavyweight division in the co-main event when he knocked out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira just 44-seconds into the very first round.
Dennis Bermudez continued on his winning ways with a victory over Clay Guida. Bermudez was able to lock in a tight rear-naked choke midway through the second round and earn himself his seventh straight win.
Kicking off the FOX main card was an amazing lightweight bout between Bobby Green and Josh Thomson. Green was able to utilize his tricky strikes with great angles to earn the judges nod against Thomson.
So with that, it’s that time again where we at MMASucka.com play “matchmaker” and derive match-ups that could materialize for the main card winners. Sitting on the matchmaker’s armchair is no easy task by any standards so if your solutions differ from ours, state them in the comments section below.
Let’s get started!
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(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Bobby Green (23-5)
Who should he fight next: Donald Cerrone
With Khabib Nurmagomedov injured, Cerrone is in need of an opponent and what better match-up than “King” Green? “Cowboy” is ranked at number 5 and Green just earned himself his eighth straight victory with his win over the number 3 ranked Thomson. Not only is he unbeaten in his last eight, but he is 4-0 inside the UFC Octagon. Cerrone has won four in a row, with all of them being either submission or knockout victories. This one would be fireworks for the fans.
Dennis Bermudez (14-3)
Who should he fight next: Chan Sung Jung
What ever happened to “The Korean Zombie”? And why is nobody talking about him? Bermudez did all he needed to do to place himself inside the top-10 of the UFC rankings with his decisive victory over Guida and Jung still sitting at number 5 that fight makes the most sense.
Jung has not fought since his featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo at UFC 163 in August 2013 where he dislocated his shoulder, which forced the TKO stoppage. That loss was followed by his wedding, so it’s about time to see him back inside the Octagon.
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (18-4)
Who he should fight next: Glover Teixeira
Another guy making a mark on a division was “Rumble” Johnson. Almost everyone expected him to destroy Lil Nog, but I’m not sure they expected it that quickly or in that fashion. A guy in the division that has unreal punching power as well and has tested the top talent, is the man right above him in the UFC rankings at the moment, Glover Teixeira.
Johnson is riding an eight-fight winning streak and seems to need a step up in competition. That’s where Teixeira comes into place — the man was undefeated for nearly eight years and his only loss in his last twenty fights was to UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. This will be war.
Robbie Lawler (24-10, 1NC)
Who he should fight next: Johny Hendricks
With his decision victory, Lawler has earned himself a crack at the man at the top of the 170-pound division, Johny Hendricks
So there is no head scratching, with thoughts of whom to match him up with, as this one will be signed, sealed and delivered as soon as Hendricks is ready to rock.
The champ is recovering from bicep surgery which he underwent in March. It sounds as if the rematch is already being targeted for UFC 181 on January 3, 2015. If that’s the case, Happy New Year to EVERYONE.
