The UFC returned to the SAP Center in San Jose, California on Saturday night and while the evening was filled with decisions, the 11,000-plus fans on hand certainly did not see a lack of action.
The next UFC welterweight title challenger was named after a thrilling main event scrap, while new contenders came into their own at featherweight, lightweight and light heavyweight, respectively.
Check out the biggest winners and losers from an action-packed night of fights at UFC on FOX 12.
BIGGEST WINNER
Robbie Lawler – The “Ruthless” one is now 5-1 since dropping back down to welterweight in February 2013, with the sole loss being a razor-thin decision loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 in March.
After a hard-fought win over Matt Brown at UFC on FOX 12, Lawler will get another crack at “Bigg Rigg” and his championship gold either late this year or early next year.
With his stellar kickboxing, takedown defense and cardio, Lawler looks like a completely new man at 32 years old.
WINNER
Anthony Johnson – Few UFC contenders have the ability to stop a fight as quickly as Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
After stopping Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in just 44 seconds with vicious uppercuts (his eighth win in a row), few options make sense for Johnson next outside of a title eliminator fight.
WINNER
Dennis Bermudez – Since losing in the season 14 finale of The Ultimate Fighter, Bermudez has really come into his own and rattled off seven straight wins.
On Saturday, he truly proved a he turned a corner by choking out ex-Strikeforce champ/perennial contender Clay Guida. A top five opponent at 145 seems like a necessity at this point.
WINNER
Bobby Green – Don’t look now, but all of a sudden Bobby “King” Green has won eight fights in a row with his most recently victory over former Strikeforce titleholder Josh Thomson.
While some disagreed with the split decision, Green’s heart and skills can’t be denied anymore since he took the fight on less than two weeks notice.
BIGGEST LOSER
Josh Thomson – After seriously considering retirement after a loss to Benson Henderson in January, “The Punk” returned to the Octagon for a showdown with Bobby Green on Saturday.
While the losses to “Bendo” and Green were both debatable, the bottom line is that the American Kickboxing Academy standout is 35 years old and now just 2-4 in his past six fights.
Furthermore, he is 4-5 in his past nine bouts and hasn’t put together a win streak since 2010. All things considered, maybe it is time for Thomson to call it a career.
LOSER
Clay Guida – “The Carpenter” is in a similar, though arguably worse position, than Thomson as he is also just 2-4 in his last six matchups.
Factor in that he was finished in his past two losses after going five years without being submitted or knocked out, it’s tough to argue that “The Caveman” has anything left to offer after 46 professional fights.
LOSER
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – “Little Nog” did his best to convince fight fans that he wasn’t going to get decimated by Anthony Johnson this weekend, but, well, we all know what happened.
Nogueira got uppercut into oblivion and was sent to the back of the line of light heavyweight contenders. While the Brazilian submission specialist may have a couple good fights left in him, 38 years old wouldn’t be a bad time to retire.
LOSER
Matt Brown – The Ohio native said he would put on a show after missing weight on Friday and he certainly delivered, giving Lawler everything he could handle – particularly when he unleashed a flurry of trademark violence in the final frame.
However, after 25 minutes “The Immortal” came up a little short, with Lawler exploiting weaknesses in his striking defense and counter striking.
Nevertheless, he proved he can hang with the division’s best on Saturday so he still shouldn’t be far away from title contention.