MMAInsider Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 UFC President Dana White confirmed another main event at the UFC 167 post-fight press conference, announcing that Josh Thompson (20-5, 1nc) would take on former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson (19-3, pictured) in a five round battle at next year’s UFC on Fox 10 event, set for the United Center on January 25th in Chicago, Illinois. While Thompson had originally been scheduled to take on Anthony Pettis (17-2) for the lightweight championship at UFC on Fox 9 later this year, the bout was scrapped after Pettis suffered a knee injury, which is likely to keep him out of action for around eight months. Thompson goes into the bout looking to cement his place as the next in line for a title shot by following up from his knockout victory over Nate Diaz (16-9) in April. Prior to his UFC return, Thompson had a six year stint fighting primarily in Strikeforce where he became a household name largely thanks to his trilogy of fights with Gilbert Melendez (22-3). Despite coming away with a 1-2 record against Melendez in the trilogy, it was Thompson who got the first win, defeating Melendez in 2008 to capture the Strikeforce lightweight title. During a career which has spanned over twelve years, Thompson, who is currently ranked #4 in the UFC’s lightweight division, has earned notable victories over some of the biggest names in the sport, including Melendez, Duane Ludwig (21-14), JZ Cavalcante (18-7-1, 2nc), Pat Healy (31-16, 1nc) and Hermes Franca (22-12, 1nc). The #1 ranked Henderson returns to the octagon for the first time since losing his title to Pettis, where he will be looking to recapture the form that saw him win four straight title fights inside the UFC, over Frankie Edgar (16-4-1) twice, Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. Henderson currently holds a 7-1 record in the UFC, with his only defeat coming to the aforementioned Pettis. However, with Henderson having already lost twice to Pettis, with the other fight occurring in WEC, it is unknown whether or not a victory over Thompson will be enough to earn him another crack at the champion or if the title should would be more likely to go to one of the other top contenders in the UFC’s lightweight divison, such as the #2 ranked Gilbert Melendez or #3 ranked TJ Grant (21-5). UFC on Fox 10: Lightweight Bout - Josh Thompson (20-5, 1nc) vs Benson Henderson (19-3) Featherweight Bout - Darren Elkins (17-3) vs Jeremy Stephens (22-9) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mmainsidernet?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mmainsidernet?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mmainsidernet?i=m5roXFhiSbQ:idFjuHrhHtg:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mmainsidernet?i=m5roXFhiSbQ:idFjuHrhHtg:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mmainsidernet/~4/m5roXFhiSbQView the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRaven Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Not crazy about the fight. I think it'll be a good one, but if Henderson wins (which he very well could, and in my opinion probably will) it kills Thompson off as a top contender and Henderson will still be a few wins away from title contention. Like is mentioned above, Melendez and Grant are both waiting, but Pettis is expected to miss 7-8 months from what I've heard... one or both of them are going to take a fight, possibly against each other which kills off another contender. There's a lot of talent in the 155 division, of course, but there aren't a lot of people primed for title contention and I don't love the idea of shortening that list too much in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 How I see it - Benson by decision. He is really good and skilled fighter, you don't see Nate Diaz being dominated like that very often (last time it happened before Benson, it was Rory at 170) but he isn't really set for finishing fights now :/ I hope that losing the title will serve as kicker for him to start going for it, but for now I see it as decision for Bendo. And yes - if Grant will face Melendez, its would really hurt contender's line :/ But division has to move, even if champ is out. Interim belt isn't essential here, but if Anthony won't be back in those 6-7 months, I think that's the way to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRaven Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Dana White was asked about an interim belt (I think at the pre-167 scrum?) and he flat out said "no, we're not doing that". I think with the drama they've gone through with Cruz they'll be pretty hesitant about handing out interim titles. On top of that, Pettis is developing a reputation as being injury prone, and bringing in an interim strap reinforces that and validates a lot of the haters' opinion that he's a glass champion. If they just let the contenders weed each other out until next summer, they think they'll have a clearly established challenger and then a bunch of guys coming off losses and a "fresh start" within the division as it were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theking04 Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Gotta go with Hendo on that one, in my opinion the best LW in the UFC but just found his kryptonite in Pettis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramirez Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 i'm pissed about Pettis being injured. i dream of the day he fights Aldo, that would be an amazing fight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramirez Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 i thought if he beat Thompson and Aldo beat Lamas we may have seen them fight each other... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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