Before Conor McGregor ignites the Boston crowd on Sunday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night 59, Benson Henderson has the opportunity to get back on track toward the UFC lightweight title with a win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
The co-main event at TD Garden came about when Henderson’s original opponent, Eddie Alvarez, pulled out with an injury, leaving the promotion with a hole in the middle of their next fight card just two weeks out from fight night.
The UFC called Cerrone, who was just two days removed from his unanimous-decision victory over Myles Jury at UFC 182. In true “Cowboy” fashion, Cerrone accepted the fight with the former UFC lightweight champion, giving himself a 15-day turnaround time between fights.
The two had crossed paths twice before in the WEC, with Henderson winning both fights. But as we approach Fight Night in Boston, it’s Cerrone who is ranked higher and closer to a UFC title shot.
Cerrone is firing on all cylinders and has been looking unstoppable in his recent campaign. Henderson is coming off of his first ever loss by knockout, to Rafael dos Anjos at a UFC Fight Night event in August.
Oddsmakers have the fight very close, with Odds Shark currently listing Henderson as a 20-29 favorite. It’s a dangerous fight for Henderson to take against the wild and energetic Cerrone, but if he wins, he will be right back in the mix of lightweight title contention.
There is an inevitable burnout that comes with fighting so often, and eventually it will catch up with Cerrone if he doesn’t take time to recuperate properly between fights. In this case, he doesn’t have to worry about a grueling camp, as he was drinking Budweisers two weekends ago after his win over Jury, but the constant hustle of having fight after fight after fight takes a toll.
Having the benefit of a full fight camp, albeit for a different opponent, Henderson has a great opportunity against Cerrone. He was originally set to face the guy Cerrone beat, and now he gets the better fighter who has had less time to prepare.
While Benson was in camp for this fight, Cowboy was going through the motions of fight week for UFC 182, fighting and briefly celebrating. The entire time Henderson has been preparing for this same date.
If he beats Cowboy, he will sort of suck up the soul of Cerrone’s incredible winning streak and position himself for a fight with another Top 5 opponent.
With Rafael dos Anjos getting the next lightweight title shot at UFC 185 and Cerrone adding a zero to Myles Jury’s professional record, Khabib Nurmagomedov would be the only fighter ahead of Benson Henderson for a lightweight title shot.
Nurmagomedov might get a title shot against the winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Dos Anjos, but he may need to fight when he returns from his ACL injury. If he does, and Henderson beats Cerrone, that would be a serious fight for the lightweight division. If Cerrone can rally back for a third fight against Henderson, why can’t Henderson make his way back to Pettis?
Cerrone is a bad matchup for any fighter in the lightweight division on most nights. His winning streak will move to seven straight fights if he wins on Sunday, and he’ll have both avenged past losses and added a former UFC champion to his resume. But if Henderson can go 3-of-3 against Cerrone, he’ll be right back near the top of the pack in the UFC lightweight division.
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