After competing in the fight of the night at UFC 144, Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar will lock horns once again on Saturday as they headline the UFC 150 event in a rematch with the UFC Lightweight Championship on the line.
Henderson, the current top-ranked lightweight in the world currently, came out on top via unanimous decision back in February, but Edgar put up a great fight and acquitted himself well. There is no question that Edgar would love to get his hands back on the title that he believes is rightfully his, and he will have an opportunity to do just that at UFC 150.
Both Henderson and Edgar are guys who are on the upside of their respective careers, so while UFC 150 may not have the same drawing power as some cards, the odds of the MMA fans being entertained are quite high.
Here is everything you need to know about UFC 150, including when and where to watch it, who else will be competing on the card and what to watch for in the main event.
Where: Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.
When: Saturday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. ET
Watch: PPV
Full Fight Card
Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar
Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard
Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts
Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway
Dennis Bermudez vs. Tommy Hayden
Jared Hamman vs. Michael Kuiper
Ken Stone vs. Erik Perez
Dustin Pague vs. Chico Camus
Nik Lentz vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Keys to a Henderson Win
There is no doubt that submission-style mat wrestling is Henderson’s forte and that is what he should stick to on Saturday. Edgar was able to avoid getting locked into one of Henderson’s signature guillotine chokes at UFC 144, but Henderson certainly controlled the pace of the bout and the decision reflects that.
Of Henderson’s past five fights, all of them have gone to the scorecards and he has been victorious in four of those tilts. With that in mind, Henderson isn’t averse to going the distance, but I’m not sure that’s his best bet. It worked to his advantage last time against Edgar, but Frankie is a guy who likes to let the judges settle it as well, so angling for a decision is quite dangerous.
Edgar has never submitted, so getting him into a compromising position won’t be easy for Henderson, but it’s something he needs to do. Even if that doesn’t result in a submission, grounding Edgar will score Henderson some points with the judges. If Henderson wants to win, then his best bet is turning this into a ground-and-pound affair, regardless of how boring that may sound.
Keys to an Edgar Win
Edgar fought his fight during his first encounter with Henderson, and did all he could to sneak out of UFC 144 with his title reign intact, but things didn’t work out as, Henderson had his hand raised at the end of the night.
I realize that fans may not want to hear it, but Edgar ought to take somewhat of a standoffish approach in this fight, because one false move could result in him being pinned to the mat for the entirety of a round.
A fighter can’t score in the eyes of the judges when he is neutralized, so Edgar needs to remain upright as much as possible. When it comes to mat wrestling, Henderson has the big advantage, but Edgar can hang in there if they trade strikes.
Edgar would still have to be careful about not leaving himself open, but a brawl would be a much smarter fight for him.
Henderson is the favorite since he has the better all-around skill set, but if Edgar can make the fight play out on his terms, then he has a chance to regain the UFC Lightweight Championship on Saturday night.
Prediction
As much as I would like to believe Edgar can change the complexion of the fight and make it a winnable one, I have to go with Henderson here. Edgar may be able to evade the champion’s advances for part of the bout, but Henderson will inevitably get him to the mat at some point and that is where he will excel and win the fight.
I don’t anticipate Edgar tapping out, but Henderson will hold him in check for the majority of the fight and pick up yet another unanimous decision victory thanks to his technical prowess.
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