UFC Fight Night 60’s main event, a welterweight tilt between struggling former champion Ben Henderson and hotshot prospect Brandon Thatch, did not disappoint. The fight itself made no sense from a matchmaking perspective, but that did not keep the one they call “Smooth” and the Muay Thai specialist from putting on an exciting fight.
The first two rounds, as anyone who has seen Henderson would expect, were defined by measured striking exchanges. Henderson’s quickness and accuracy kept him on even footing against the long, strong Thatch, and media scores varied.
The third, however, saw Henderson identify and exploit the big hole in Thatch’s game—a marked lack of experience on the ground. Henderson would score a back take and chew up minutes on end with submission threats. Halfway through the fourth, Thatch again gave up his back to the wily veteran. This time, however, he would not be able to escape, and Henderson would sink in a rear-naked choke for the win.
In such a unique fight, which came about through such absurd circumstances, it is hard to peg any definite lessons, but a few things became clear here.
First and foremost is that Thatch is clearly, undeniably, a legitimate prospect. While some (myself included) questioned his “super-prospect” status, especially in a division that is already chock full of them, he proved any and all doubters wrong. He is long, he is powerful and his striking fundamentals are almost immaculate.
That said…his ground game needs work. A lot of work.
Thatch was arguably winning the fight exiting the third round, but when he was utterly unable to respond to Henderson’s ground game, it was only a matter of time before one of Henderson’s submission attempts stuck. The welterweight division, while not quite what it used to be, is still a tough weight class to climb through.
While the Colorado native can likely beat the majority of 170-pound fighters, he will absolutely need to fix that if he wants to compete with the likes of Ben Saunders, Gunnar Nelson or just about any other logical next opponent for him.
For Henderson, there is only one real takeaway; he is as good as ever.
This fight may have been a must-win for Bendo. Sure, his losses to Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone may carry asterisks. However, the UFC’s willingness to cut elite-level fighters due to a lack of drawing power and strong on-paper claims to title shots (Jake Shields being the best example) is clear at this point, and there is no debate that favors only go in one direction when it comes to the UFC (as DaMarques Johnson can attest to).
That said, there were serious questions regarding Henderson’s staying power in today’s crushingly deep lightweight division. While Thatch likely isn’t in the top 10 when it comes to Henderson’s all-time toughest opponents, Henderson showed that he still has strong striking, a steely chin, a high-level ground game and quite possibly the greatest scrambling skills in all of MMA.
He may or (far more likely) may not ever wind up getting another shot at the UFC lightweight belt, regardless of whether or not he winds up putting up a deserving winning streak. Either way, the skills to compete with any 155-pound fighter in the world remain.
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