After one week of running on free television, UFC makes its triumphant return to pay-per-view this Saturday with UFC 144 featuring seven main card fights and Frankie Edgar defending the lightweight championship against Benson Henderson.
Edgar had a physically grueling year in 2011, with two epic five-round battles against longtime rival Gray Maynard. Now he goes from one extreme to the other, but that is the life of a champion in UFC.
Henderson has fought valiantly over the last year to get back into the title picture following his loss to Anthony Pettis at the final WEC show in December 2010. He won three fights last year and is ready to lay claim to the throne in UFC.
Where: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
When: Saturday, Feb. 25 at 10:00 p.m. EDT
Watch: First preliminary fight airs on Facebook at 7:30 p.m. EDT; Preliminary Card airs on FX at 8:00 p.m. EDT; Main Card starts at 10:00 p.m. EDT
FIGHT CARD
Main Card
Lightweight Championship: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Benson Henderson
Light Heavyweight Bout: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
Heavyweight Bout: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Welterweight Bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Middleweight Bout: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Featherweight Bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Lightweight Bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Preliminary Card (FX)
Lightweight Bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Bantamweight Bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
Middleweight Bout: Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
Bantamweight Bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Featherweight Bout: Zhang Tiequan vs. Issei Tamura
Edgar’s Keys to Victory
Keep the fight on the ground and stay on top
Edgar’s wrestling and speed are his two greatest attributes. He has no power behind his strikes, but because he is so fast he wears opponents down over the course of a five-round fight.
He proved his toughness in those two fights with Gray Maynard last year. He can take a beating and still keep coming at you.
He will have to use his wrestling to work the fight to the ground, where he can pepper Henderson with strikes and force him to use his energy trying to escape.
Henderson’s Keys to Victory
Use long limbs to force Edgar out of his comfort zone, stay on the attack
Henderson is as aggressive as any fighter in mixed martial arts. He can take an opponent’s best shot and keep coming at you.
He is just 5’9″, but he boasts a 70-inch reach. He needs to use his long arms and legs to attack Edgar and prevent him from shooting in for a takedown.
Edgar has a habit of taking advantage of fighters in the later rounds, after he wears them down early. Henderson is the one fighter that can match his cardio, so he will have to stay on the prowl in the later rounds.
What They Are Saying
Ben Henderson has yet to win the UFC lightweight championship, but he is already looking to do everything he can to put his name up there alongside Anderson Silva.
From MMAJunkie.com:
“I want to be the best fighter, period. That goal is still in my sights. I still wake up thinking about that.
“I don’t think me beating Frankie gets me anywhere near the conversation. I’d have to beat Frankie and beat a couple of other guys and defend the belt – what is Anderson up to? He’s up to 12 right now? Thirteen? So after I beat whatever Anderson’s record is – whatever he stops at, 14 times, 15 times, after I beat that – then the conversation is going to begin.”
As much as you respect Henderson’s confidence in his abilities, it is going to take a lot of things going right for him to approach that record–if Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre don’t beat him to it.
Undercard Fight to Watch: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
While this fight is likely going to be the final one in UFC for the loser, it promises to be a memorable contest.
Yamamoto will want to put on a great show in front of his fellow countrymen. He is an all-or-nothing fighter, winning by knockout early or losing a decision contest.
Lee is a journeyman fighter being put in this position to act as a sacrificial lamb for Yamamoto, but he does have decent power and a solid submission game. If he can work the fight to the ground, he has a great chance to win.
Main Event Prediction
It is so hard to bet against Edgar considering everything that he has done since winning the championship in 2010. However, Henderson is every bit his equal and will do whatever he can to become champion.
Henderson wins via split decision
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