Taking an in-depth look into the training and general fight philosophies of the UFC’s biggest stars, The NOC’s “Training Days” series is back, this time profiling UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson as he prepares to prepare to defend his belt for the second time against Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 5 in December. You read that correctly.
After scoring a pair of hotly contested wins over former champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 and 150, Henderson takes us through his daily training regimen at his gym in Glendale, Arizona. Not yet in full-on “training for Nate” mode, parts one and two give us a look at the intense shadow boxing sessions that Bendo begins each workout with. It’s not exactly the most thrilling routine in the world, but it does give you an idea at the amount of preparation that goes into the average training session of a UFC champion. Hell, you could even put these techniques to practice the next time you find yourself caught in a Taiwanese cage fight with a raged out Billy Blanks.
Part one is above. Check out part two after the jump.
Benson states early that these kind of training sessions are not about making huge leaps and bounds in the various disciplines of the sport, but rather aim to improve the fundamental aspects of his game — be it his jab, his guillotine, his armlocks, etc. — 1% better each day. Lord knows he’ll need all the preparation he can handle against the boxing and Jiu-Jitsu prowess of that cardio freak Diaz, who showed in his last victory over Jim Miller that he can pretty much submit whoever the hell he wants when given the opportunity.
The NOC plans on releasing two more parts in the video series each day for the rest of the week. We will keep you up-to-date as they are made available.