One of the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts over the past year or so has been the idea of superfights, where two standing champions square off to decide exactly who is the king of the mountain. It was kind of strange to see that scenario play out on the UFC on Fox 7 card and not have it billed as such, especially when the term had been used in the past for fights that were far less “super.”
But hey, whatever, I’m still going to refer to Saturday night’s main event as a superfight even if the UFC will not.
In one corner, we had UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, winner of six straight bouts in the UFC. In the other corner stood Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce lightweight champion and a fighter who had long been looked at as the best lightweight fighting outside the UFC. Melendez carried a seven-fight winning streak into the matchup.
The two, no strangers to going the distance in title fights, did just that in San Jose, going the full 25 minutes before a winner was declared. It was a very evenly matched bout that could have gone either way, but in the end, the split decision went the way of the UFC champion, who earned a 48-47 score from two of the judges. The third judge gave the same score, but in favor of Melendez.
Judging from the reaction of the fans in attendance, the wrong fighter earned the victory, but that may have had something to do with the fact that Melendez is a local fighter, based out of San Francisco.
As the crowd rained down its disapproval of the decision, Henderson got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, who accepted. Not a bad night for Mr. Henderson.
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