(Photos by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC vs Getty Images)
With another solid performance in the Octagon, former WEC lightweight champ Ben ‘Smooth’ Henderson (15-2) has earned a shot at UFC gold and will meet current titleholder Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar (14-1-1) in Japan this February at UFC 144.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the fight during last nights UFC on FOX post-fight press conference.
UFC 144 is expected to take place on Feb. 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Henderson became the No. 1 contender after defeating Clay Guida in the co-main event of the FOX event in Anaheim, California. ‘Smooth’ used some solid striking, wrestling, and submission defense to earn the nod from the judges by scores of 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27. The match also earned both fighters the “Fight of the Night” bonus.
With that win is now 3-0 in the Octagon, having moved past the WEC title loss to Anthony Pettis last December. With that one loss, Henderson’s record is 13-1 dating back to 2007.
Edgar is coming off a definitive win over Gray Maynard at UFC 136, in their back-to-back title fight. In both fights, the first being UFC 125 last January, Edgar looked all but done in the first round but managed to put in a solid performance the rest of the bout. This time though, Edgar would find a way to win by stopping Maynard by fourth round TKO at the UFC 136 event to retain his title.