Lost in all of the hype surrounding the growing number of title contenders atop of the UFC lightweight division is former champion Benson Henderson.
Henderson, a former WEC lightweight champion, has one of the most spotless records in MMA and defended his title three times before dropping his strap to Anthony Pettis in a surprise armbar loss at UFC 164. Since then, the MMA Lab fighter has rebounded with wins over Josh Thomson and Rustam Khabilov, the latter being his first finish inside the UFC. But it was his first knockout defeat, at the hands of No. 1 contender Rafael dos Anjos, that has been cinched in the minds of many.
The 31-year-old has suffered a slight setback in his career, going 2-2 in a one-year span, and takes on No. 10-ranked Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night on January 18 in Boston.
Despite being finished twice, Bendo remains one of the most talented lightweights and doesn’t have much ground to cover to go after the title once again. His matchup against the former Bellator lightweight titleholder is the first peg in his climb back up the 155-pound pecking order.
Alvarez has long been considered one of the premier lightweights in the game, which is why the UFC finally landed the Blackzilians stud last summer. He holds notable wins over Michael Chandler, Shinya Aoki and Pat Curran.
The 30-year-old began his career 11 years ago as an undersized welterweight before moving down to the 155-pound division in the Dream organization. Alvarez would then maintain a run that featured six finishes before he captured the Bellator 155-pound title.
One of the more physically imposing lightweights, like Henderson, Alvarez can—and typically does—dominate his opponents with his powerful strikes.
He brought hefty expectations with him into his Octagon debut against perennial lightweight contender Donald Cerrone, but “Cowboy” outlasted the power puncher Alvarez for a unanimous-decision victory. What Cerrone, and men like Bellator‘s Chandler, have been able to prove is that Alvarez can be picked apart and overwhelmed.
However, what they have also shown is that he is extremely durable and difficult to put away.
The road doesn’t get any easier if he ever expects to strap UFC gold around his waist when he faces Henderson in a couple of weeks. Henderson’s kicks and body shots are crippling. The damage they do internally and externally can be seen in his wars with Frankie Edgar.
If “Smooth” can batter the legs of Alvarez early in their fight, that will help negate the movement and takedown threat from the latter in the later rounds.
For Henderson, this rough stretch not only has to with his skills but also the talent-stacked lightweight division. There are arguably three fighters—Dos Anjos, Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov—who could all make a claim that they deserve a shot at the champion Pettis. It was a flying knee by Dos Anjos that sent Bendo on his slide.
The current crop of top contenders all have something different to offer foes, but most importantly, they all can turn it on and finish fights. We’ve yet to see that “next level” from Henderson, aside from his rear-naked choke of Khabilov, and even in that fight, he was roughed up and taken down several times. It’s time that he go back to the drawing board to try and channel the Bendo of WEC, where all but one of his wins were finishes.
With two more wins, Henderson can place himself right in the thick of the lightweight title picture again. He has the talent on the feet, the clinch and the guard to halt any offense from Alvarez. He also has fought at the pinnacle of his sport for multiple years, but it would help to see a sense of urgency from the top-five lightweight.
On a card that features the main event of Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver, the co-main event is looking like the much more competitive one.
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