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The UFC’s lightweight division is filled with men who are poised to make a charge at the current title holder, Anthony Pettis. Tony Ferguson is in such a position. After an impressive win at UFC 184, “El Cucuy” should expect to face some tougher opposi…
The UFC’s lightweight division is filled with men who are poised to make a charge at the current title holder, Anthony Pettis. Tony Ferguson is in such a position. After an impressive win at UFC 184, “El Cucuy” should expect to face some tougher opposition from this point forward.
These five men would make interesting opponents for the next time he steps into the Octagon.
Twelfth-ranked Michael Johnson took his fourth straight win at UFC Fight Night 61 on Sunday as he earned a decision victory over Edson Barboza. Since his time on The Ultimate Fighter, Johnson has steadily improved and overcome multiple hurdles to look …
Twelfth-ranked Michael Johnson took his fourth straight win at UFC Fight Night 61 on Sunday as he earned a decision victory over Edson Barboza. Since his time on The Ultimate Fighter, Johnson has steadily improved and overcome multiple hurdles to look like the fighter that he is today.
If he is to become a contender in the very deep lightweight division, he will have to take some key victories over the upper echelon of the group. With that in mind, here is a look at five opponents who should be next in line for the Blackzilian standout.
Gilbert Melendez has long been a staple in the lightweight division. For years, he was considered one of the best fighters of any weight class outside of the UFC. When he finally made his first Octagon appearance in 2013, it was clear that he was going…
Gilbert Melendez has long been a staple in the lightweight division. For years, he was considered one of the best fighters of any weight class outside of the UFC. When he finally made his first Octagon appearance in 2013, it was clear that he was going to be in the title picture for a time to come. However, in his second bid for the 155-pound title, he was unable to capture the belt from Anthony Pettis. With his fourth defeat in his 12-year career, these are five fight suggestions that could be used to move his career forward.
Bobby Green is yet another mixed martial artist who has decided to talk his way into stardom. The rise of the “King” has been as sudden as he has been loud. As he prepares for his co-main event slot at UFC Fight Night 57 against Edson Barbo…
Bobby Green is yet another mixed martial artist who has decided to talk his way into stardom. The rise of the “King” has been as sudden as he has been loud. As he prepares for his co-main event slot at UFC Fight Night 57 against Edson Barboza, this may be the moment that he’s been waiting for to become a face to follow within MMA.
Travel back to UFC 156, when Green walked into the Octagon for the first time to face off against Jacob Volkmann. While Volkmann was far from a fan favorite, he had won six of his last seven fights. That fact made him a +235 underdog heading into the bout, according to Best Fight Odds. He was riding a four-fight win streak at the time and surprised many when he submitted Volkmann via rear-naked choke in the third round.
Since that moment he’s been on quite a run and gaining attention at the same time. His win over Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 12 was the type of victory that can get experts talking about his viability as a contender in the UFC’s lightweight division.
As Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports commented in his July piece: “Green would have been an underdog against Thomson no matter what. But considering the circumstances, beating one of the best lightweights in the world and registering his name among the elite in the 155-pound division is simply massive.”
The UFC recognized the value of this win, and the California native is now sitting No. 7 within its rankings. Oddly, he’s still behind Thomson but still in a position of value.
The bout against Barboza is a style matchup that fits both fighters in particular ways. However, the fans should reap the benefits as both competitors are known for action-packed contests. This is the exact opportunity that can launch Green’s career to a new point if he can pull off a highlight-reel victory.
He is already taking shots at Donald Cerrone, who is on his own rise within the 155-pound division, via MMA Fighting. If he can take home his ninth straight win by defeating Barboza, this would be the perfect time to call out Cerrone in a title eliminator for 2015.
The fighters who have become bigger stars within mixed martial arts all had their “moment.” Jon Jones smashing Mauricio Rua, Ronda Rousey defeating Liz Carmouche and the Chuck Liddell versus Tito Ortiz series are just three examples of how fighters have seized the moment that led to their stardom. Bobby Green is far off from that same level, but a big win at UFC Fight Night 57 will push him in the right direction.
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It’s probably safe to say no one saw that coming.
Riding a win streak of a couple of fights (19 non-Anthony Pettis fights if you want to get crazy with it) and looking like he’d never be far beyond nipping at the champ’s heels, Benson Henderson walked …
It’s probably safe to say no one saw that coming.
Riding a win streak of a couple of fights (19 non-Anthony Pettis fights if you want to get crazy with it) and looking like he’d never be far beyond nipping at the champ’s heels, Benson Henderson walked into Tulsa, Oklahoma, and got himself knocked out.
The culprit, Rafael dos Anjos, is a grappling ace who has developed the type of technique that accentuates his physical tools nicely and just happened to peak in the biggest fight of his life.
Henderson was the victim for a change, falling to 21-4 in his career and finding himself rudderless in the crowded 155-pound waters of the UFC.
Here are three fights to consider for him going forward.
These two met earlier in the year and provided one of the more divisive results in recent history, as Thomson looked to get the better of Henderson for much of the bout, but Henderson’s focus on activity over damage was enough to sway the judges.
Now, the better part of a year later, they’re both in the same place in the UFC anyway: respected veteran contenders coming off surprising losses. Funny how this sport works, isn’t it?
With no obvious solution to the matchmaking problem for either man, why not put them together again and give them the chance to work out their issues one more time? After all, Thomson was so flustered by the loss that he openly pondered retirement, and it was the exact type of decision Henderson gets so often that fans were flustered by it too.
The UFC could do worse than booking these two again.
Michael Johnson
The man who was booked to face Thomson last month on Fox might also be an interesting fit for Henderson, as he pulled out of that bout due to injury but has otherwise been enjoying quite a resurgence in his career.
Finally capable of applying his athletic gifts to the fight game, Johnson matches up well with Henderson in every imaginable way. Every component of the bout would be a pick ’em on paper, the type of fight that could easily serve to create a new star or prove that an old one isn’t ready to burn out just yet.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
No one has been itching to fight Nurmagomedov since he joined the UFC, and it’s hard to imagine the lineup to fight Henderson has ever been particularly long either. Though he’s presently out with a knee injury, there’s reason to be intrigued by Nurmagomedov meeting Henderson in a return bout.
Due to the UFC’s schedule, the urgency of booking winners against winners and losers against losers is much less compared to what it was a couple of years ago. There’s also the influence of lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and top contender Gilbert Melendez sitting around until December, when their season of The Ultimate Fighter ends and they can fight for the title.
With that in mind, there’s a good chance that, though he beat Dos Anjos himself and could easily hold claim to a title shot, the unbeaten Dagestan native may need to take another fight when he’s healthy, and that fight should be Henderson.
Almost everyone who’s relevant is either booked or hurt and, at least on paper, Nurmagomedov has never been tested by a name as well-known and dangerous as Henderson. Win that fight, and he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he should be next in line for a crack at gold.
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With a short right hand and some follow-up shots to a collapsed Gray Maynard, Ross Pearson made a bold, violent announcement to the MMA world Saturday night in Maine at UFC Fight Night 47: His time is now; ignore him at your own peril.
The Englishman h…
With a short right hand and some follow-up shots to a collapsed Gray Maynard, Ross Pearson made a bold, violent announcement to the MMA world Saturday night in Maine at UFC Fight Night 47: His time is now; ignore him at your own peril.
The Englishman has been puttering about as a fringe contender seemingly since the day he stepped out of the Octagon as an official TUF champion, and now, with a signature win under his belt to wipe away the foul stench of his decision loss to Diego Sanchez, he’s moving on up.
With that in mind, here’s a short list of guys who make sense for him the next time he knuckles up.
Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson was yanked from his bout with Josh Thomson in July after he suffered an injury, but in terms of matchmaking, there’s lots to like here.
The two men are at similar stages of their career—late-20s TUF products with a high athletic ceiling and some substantial career momentum—and for them to meet now would be notable for the future of the division.
It’s also a bout that pits the wrestling chops and vastly improved striking of Johnson against the nasty kickboxing and crafty takedown defense of Pearson, which is almost a lock to provide an exciting fight.
Josh Thomson
Speaking of Thomson, he ended up losing—on the night he was supposed to fight Johnson—to an upstart Bobby Green. It was one of his more lackluster performances in recent years, and it essentially undid all the goodwill and momentum he’d ferreted away after beating Nate Diaz and losing a dubious decision to Benson Henderson.
Now, with his ranking lower than it’s been in the promotion in quite some time (No. 6 in the lightweight division), there could be some serious enjoyment to be had if he were to lock up with Pearson just as his star is beginning to shoot a little.
Thomson is always fun and entertaining, and Pearson doesn’t know what a boring fight looks like. When you add the stakes of divisional relevance to the mix it becomes a pretty appealing tilt.
Jim Miller
Another guy who’s no stranger to in-cage excitement, Jim Miller could be a solid test for Pearson as he tries to stack up against the tougher men in the division.
Miller has been around forever and has only suffered defeats to the cream of the UFC crop, usually going in for a night of bloody mayhem no matter what side of the ledger he ends up on.
With his criminally underappreciated jiu-jitsu, solid wrestling, capable standup and unflinching will, he could be the perfect guy to help lock down exactly what the promotion has in the 29-year-old Pearson and determine just how far he might go now that he’s entering his best years.
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