At this past weekend’s UFC on FOX 12 event, Lightweight Bobby Green asserted his status as a rising contender by taking out veteran Josh Thompson. For Green, it was a big win in a step up fight, while Thomson dropped his second fight in a row.
Green was the underdog going into the fight, and he had the added factor of a short preparation time leading in, but he came out and went right at Thomson. The opening sequences of the fight saw Green land a hard kick that got a smile out of Thompson, and then he proceeded to floor Thomson. That opening sequence seemed to take the starch out of Thomson, who spent most of the first round being walked down by Green.
In the second round, Green made a mistake that could have cost him the match, in that he spent most of the round clowning while Thomson worked on mounting an offense.
With the win, Green is now in deep waters, as his next match will likely be against someone like Benson Henderson, Donald Cerrone or Khabib Nurmagomedov next. All are waiting for the return of champion Anthony Pettis, who faces Gilbert Melendez at the end of the year, so the next match for Green is critical now that he has been ushered into the top of the weight class.
Green has now reeled of eight wins in a row and he stands at 4-0 in the UFC. Not sure how the UFC matchmakers will go on this one, but matching Henderson against the Russian Nurmagomedov leaves Henderson’s likely next opponent as ‘The Cowboy, Donald Cerrone.
Green slowed Thomson down at the start of the fight, but he failed to parlay that into a signature, definitive win. Instead he left it to the judges, and in some minds at least, he got lucky leaving it in their hands. Cerrone is known for racking up fights and finishes of the night, so he is unlikely to have a cautious opponent in that fight. For his part, after a few bumps in the road, Cerrone has returned to be a top name in the division, but is he probably also at least a win away from a title shot. Ending the run of Bobby Green would be right up Cerrone’s alley.
