Josh “Burned Again” Thomson
MOST THOUGHT THOMSON SHOULDA’ GOT THE CALL
Beverly Hills, CA– During and after the UFC On FOX 10 card, I’d knew I’ve seen both better fighting and officiating. The main event pitted lightweights (155 lb.), And with champion Anthony Pettis recovering from surgery, the UFC’s Saturday night FOX main was two-time Pettis victim by submission and ex-UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson (20-3, 8-1 UFC) getting a questionable decision over ex-Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson (20-6, 3-2 UFC) in the main event from Chicago.
HENDO NOTICEABLE BIGGER THAN JOSH
In a very lackluster fight, Henderson was given the benefit of the doubt, again, think of Henderson-Gilbert Melendez and Benson-Frankie Edgar, over a game Thompson who I thought should have been given the decision. It wasn’t a case of getting “underdog-idis, this was simply a fight that I thought Hendo was out worked clearly 3 of the 5 rounds.
DANA WHITE NOT RAGING OVER DECISION
Dana White was not too all that pleased with the way this fight turned out, as both men seemed to be fighting “not to lose” rather than win. “Neither guy really went for it. It was a typical Benson Henderson fight. He’s a grinder and he just grinds out decisions,” said White post fight to Las Vegas TV. I had picked Benson to win, but I did not think he did enough to pull off the victory. What was especially inexplicable was the 49-46 card in favor of Bendo and Dana was moaning about that.
TWO FIGHTS: ONE UP & ONE DOWN
When Thomson got him on the floor, he was the guy in control. And he even scored an occasional strike, a department Hendo was better at. Thus, Hendo had the edge in strikes, Josh had him in takedowns. Pedro Fernandez asked me if Thomson could drop to 145 lbs. Even if he could, he’d have a far better chance at UFC gold at 155 than he probably would against 145 lb. (featherweight) king Jose Aldo.
JOSH WILL LIKELY GET TITLE SHOT STILL
White said, “Henderson won’t be fighting for the title soon,” and that “Thomson might remain ranked #1.” In the co-main event, heavyweight (265 limit) Stipe Miocic (11-1, 5-1 UFC) dominated Gabriel Gonzaga (16-8, 11-7 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision win. Gonzaga looked bewildered and seemed to tire near the end of the first five minute round. From there it was smooth sailing for Stipe.
YOU KNOW CERONE GOT THE BONUS!
Donald Cerrone (22-6, 9-3 UFC) was certainly the highlight of this card, as his head kick knockout of Adriano Martins (25-7, 1-1 UFC) at 4:40 of the first round was easily the most exciting moment in any of the four fights. The lightweight Cerrone is a “hot and cold” type of fighter, and fortunately for him, he was hot Saturday night. Featherweight (145) Jeremy Stephens (23-9, 10-8 UFC) won an easy decision over Darren Elkins (17-4, 7-3 UFC), as Elkins never seemed to find his rhythm. All in all, not the greatest card you’ll ever see.
Zak Young