On Saturday night, two of the UFC’s most athletic fighters do battle, as UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson faces former WEC 53 opponent, and the last World Extreme Cagefighting Lightweight Champion, Anthony “Showtime “Pettis, in a rematch of their 2010 Fight of the Year Contender. This piece will break down both fighters, as well as where the fight will likely be won and lost.
Benson Henderson
Henderson, a former NAIA All-American, has been a longtime member of Glendale, Arizona’s MMA Lab. Before his WEC debut in 2009, Henderson had made his way around the regional fight scene, racking up a record of 7-1.
In his WEC debut Henderson made light work of noted striker Anthony Njokuani, submitting him in the second round. Next up was a bout with high-level wrestler Shane Roller, and he scored a TKO within two minutes. This victory set up a fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the WEC interim lightweight title. After a great back and forth fight at WEC 43, Henderson was declared victorious.
At WEC 46 came Henderson’s crowning moment in his WEC career, as he faced the ever-dangerous Jamie Varner to unify the WEC lightweight titles, and after a dominant performance, “Smooth” locked in his patented guillotine choke, forcing Jamie Varner to tap.
After a first round submission win against Donald Cerrone at WEC 48, the promotion matched him with Anthony Pettis for the last WEC fight. What would transpire is probably the best fight of the WEC Era. After a back and forth fight, it was all even going into the fifth and final round. It was in that round that “Showtime” did the unthinkable by running up the cage and landing the now notorious “Showtime Kick.” This was enough to earn Pettis the nod, and since that night fight fans have been hankering for a rematch.
Since losing his WEC title, Henderson has been a man possessed, and from the moment he debuted in the Octagon, he has looked to make up for that loss. Henderson won his first three UFC fights in dominant fashion before being awarded a title shot in Japan at UFC 144 against Frankie Edgar. After a close five-round fight, Henderson got the nod, and thus began his reign as UFC Lightweight Champion. Since that night, Henderson has defended his belt 3 times ,and is poised to surpass BJ Penn’s defence record if he’s victorious on Saturday.
Striking-wise, Henderson is known for his powerful leg kicks. When moving forward on the feet he is at his best, and in recent years his defensive boxing has come along nicely. Grappling is Henderson’s realm and his top game is largely unstoppable. His submission defence is unbelieveable, and if he takes you down you’re likely to stay down.
Keys for victory for Henderson are pretty straightforward: he needs to be aggressive and keep Pettis on the back foot, and look to score takedowns early and often.
Anthony Pettis
Pettis took a similar route to title contendership in the WEC as Henderson had. After dropping a split decision loss in his WEC debut, “Showtime” lived up to his moniker by knocking out Danny Castillo with a highlight reel head kick KO in the first. After scoring a pair of triangle choke victories against Alex Karalexis and Shane Roller, he found himself in a title fight against Henderson, a fight as we all know he was victorious in.
Pettis’ WEC title win was supposed to set the stage for a UFC title shot, but after Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw at UFC 125 and were booked to rematch each other, Pettis made the fatal mistake of taking a fight against Clay Guida. While I believe Pettis won that bout off his back by constantly attacking, the judges seldom score fighters on the bottom.
After his loss to Guida, Pettis was back to square one, and started up from the bottom in the UFC. First he beat Jeremy Stephens, then scored a knockout against Joe Lauzon on the same night that Henderson beat Edgar, then lastly Pettis put away Cerrone with a liverkick at UFC on Fox 6.
On the feet Pettis is at his best — his strikes are as diverse as anyone’s, and Henderson will be well aware of that. On the ground, Pettis is dangerous, specifically with triangle chokes, but I believe Henderson’s top game is too strong.
The keys for victory for Pettis are simple: He needs to keep the fight on the feet and look to control the tempo.
The Verdict
Since their first fight, the progression in Benson Henderson’s game has been far more obvious than Anthony Pettis’. I’m backing Henderson to make a statement in Milwaukee and score a dominant decision victory.
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• Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis (UFC Lightweight Championship)
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UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis II (formerly UFC 164: Henderson vs. Grant) is due to take place on August 31, 2013 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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