Yes, you did read that headline correctly. Featherweight Cody McKenzie, who defeated Leonard Garcia via unanimous decision last weekend at UFC 159, has called out former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson. I wish I was joking, but here’s what McKenzie today said on his Twitter: “Hey @TheRealPunk now that you finally made it back to the big show you and I should fight. ….
McKenzie is a 145er and although he used to fight at 155, he’s not suited for that weight class and is a better fit at featherweight. But Thomson is a lightweight — as well as one of the top five 155ers on the planet — and there’s no way he’ll be dropping to featherweight anytime soon, especially not for a fight against the bottom-feeder McKenzie. This fight has absolutely no chance of ever happening, but just for fun, if it did, one would expect that Thomson opens as a -600 or more favorite, with the comeback on McKenzie around +450 but probably even higher once the public starts to parlay Thomson. But again, this fight will never happen so thinking about it is just for fun, even though the fight wouldn’t be very fun for McKenzie. By the way, UFC lightweight Isaac Vallie-Flagg responded to McKenzie’s conversation with Thomson and said he would be happy to welcome McKenzie back to 155 should he make the move back up. Although Vallie-Flagg is fighting Sam Stout at UFC 161, if he wins that fight a bout against McKenzie could happen, although it’s not the kind of fight that would get Vallie-Flagg into the mix like he surely wants. But it’s a payday. Pierson Vs. Robertson Added to UFC 161 The UFC today announced that TJ Waldburger is out of his UFC 161 matchup against Sean Pierson and in his place steps Kenny Robertson on six week’s notice. There’s no word yet on why Waldburger was pulled from the bout, but it’s possible he’s injured. Pierson vs. Robertson is a fairly competitive fight but the X-factor for me is the fact that Robertson is eight years younger than Pierson. Although Pierson has looked rejuvenated in his last two fights against youngsters Jake Hecht and Lance Benoist — both wins for Pierson — he was knocked down in the last round of his UFC 152 fight with Benoist and he’s been out with concussion symptoms ever since, which is why he was forced to pull out of his UFC 158 bout against Rick Story. Look for Robertson to open around -150 with the comeback on Pierson at +120. This is a close fight and Pierson will be fired up fighting in his native Canada but Robertson is coming off a “Submission of the Night” performance against Brock Jardine at UFC 157 and looks like he could actually pan out to be a decent 170er, while Pierson is certainly nearing the end of his career.