UFC on FOX 12 Aftermath: ‘Rumble’, ‘Ruthless’ & ‘The Menace’ Shine, Brown Proven Mortal

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UFC on FOX 12 went down last night (Sat. July 26, 2104) in San Jose, California, and the top three fights delivered in a very big way. One submission, one monstrous knockout and an unexpected five-round slugfest. Who could ask for more from a main card on FOX network? Above all else, we found out that Robbie Lawler will be challenging Johny Hendricks once the champ is recovered.

But there are a number of other points to mull in the wake of last night’s festivities, firstly……

Rumble young man, ‘Rumble’

Now 30 years of age, and two fights in to his second UFC stint, Anthony Johnson is finally living up to his potential. After a very impressive three round victory over Phil Davis at UFC 172, ‘Rumble’ returned to UFC on FOX 12 to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In the mere 44 seconds that the fight lasted, we saw that Johnson has matured greatly.

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‘Rumble’ picked his shots, moved in for the kill, and put in an overall clinical performance against a wily veteran in ‘Lil Nog’. Although he may not quite be ready for a title fight, he is surely ready for a top three fight. Perhaps a bout with Glover Teixeira is on the cards? Equally, I think that Nogueira should call it quits now.

Robbie Lawler brought out ‘The Mortal’ in Matt Brown

‘Ruthless’ fought a great fight at UFC on FOX 12 against a very tough opponent in Matt Brown, using his movement and feints to set up solid striking for all five rounds. Although ‘The Immortal’ got some great shots off, he was clearly outclassed in my opinion, and should have been waved off by referee John McCarthy in round three.

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Similar to the controversy with Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone, it did not impact on the end result. ‘Ruthless’ punched his ticket to another title shot, and I hat e to say this, but Brown proved what I have been thinking for a while; he is an incredibly tough, exciting, scary and dominant gate keeper. He looked out of place with Lawler in the octagon, but to his credit he is probably the toughest SOB out there.

So, Dennis ‘The Menace’ is 7-1 at 145…..

With such a healthy stream of contenders and fresh talent in the UFC featherweight division, guys like Dennis Bermudez occasionally get overlooked. That being said, his victory over Clay Guida was a game changer. ‘The Menace’ earned performance of the night for his second round RNC, and beat a staple of the UFC’s lighter weight class in the process.

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So what’s next for the (currently) number 12 ranked Bermudez? Well, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he broke in to the top 10 with the win over number seven ‘Carpenter’, and a bout with just about anyone near him in that bunch will prove if Bermudez truly is a legitimate title contender.

Props to the judges that gave Noad Lahat the nod against Steven Siler, when it was clearly Siler’s fight, Brian Ortega for choking out a Gracie BJJ black belt, Pat Cummins for an ape-like beat down on Kyle Kingsbury, and to Joanna J?drzejczyk for being the scariest woman that you could fit in your jacket pocket.

Props to USA Today Sports for the images