(Henderson, seen here making Shane Roller rapidly consider cutting to featherweight at WEC 40.)
No, we are not jumping on the Nate Diaz bandwagon. Not yet, at least.
In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, current UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson resentfully admitted something that no athlete is ever quick to declare: He ain’t getting any younger. And because of this, it is getting harder and harder for a massive lightweight such as “Smooth” to make the required cut for each of his title defenses. How much weight does he cut? Henderson didn’t reveal the exact number, but several close sources claimed that the lightweight champ normally resides around the 180-pound mark often up to just a few days out from fight night. It’s a massive, draining cut for any athlete to undergo, and as we’ve seen in the past, can have devastating effects on the human body. Henderson is no different, and acknowledged that he has struggled to deal with the cut as he has gotten older:
When I was in college and wrestling, I would wrestle all day long and not get tired. I remember wrestling hard for five hours – literally five hours hard – and be just fine. I would eat friggin’ Taco Bell, be fine, and wrestle again.
I’m growing, but as far as maturing and getting thicker, I think I’m getting older right now, and it’s getting harder for me to lose the weight … and it’s harder for me to keep the weight off.
Henderson’s UFC on FOX 5 opponent, Nate Diaz, is no stranger to the difficulty of weight cutting, having moved up to welterweight to fight on several occasions but finding much less success there. The same could be argued for Henderson, who stands at a mere 5 foot 9 and would hold a distinct size disadvantage were he to move up in weight. But according to Henderson, it is only a matter of time until the choice is no longer an option.
(Henderson, seen here making Shane Roller rapidly consider cutting to featherweight at WEC 40.)
No, we are not jumping on the Nate Diaz bandwagon. Not yet, at least.
In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, current UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson resentfully admitted something that no athlete is ever quick to declare: He ain’t getting any younger. And because of this, it is getting harder and harder for a massive lightweight such as “Smooth” to make the required cut for each of his title defenses. How much weight does he cut? Henderson didn’t reveal the exact number, but several close sources claimed that the lightweight champ normally resides around the 180-pound mark often up to just a few days out from fight night. It’s a massive, draining cut for any athlete to undergo, and as we’ve seen in the past, can have devastating effects on the human body. Henderson is no different, and acknowledged that he has struggled to deal with the cut as he has gotten older:
When I was in college and wrestling, I would wrestle all day long and not get tired. I remember wrestling hard for five hours – literally five hours hard – and be just fine. I would eat friggin’ Taco Bell, be fine, and wrestle again.
I’m growing, but as far as maturing and getting thicker, I think I’m getting older right now, and it’s getting harder for me to lose the weight … and it’s harder for me to keep the weight off.
Henderson’s UFC on FOX 5 opponent, Nate Diaz, is no stranger to the difficulty of weight cutting, having moved up to welterweight to fight on several occasions but finding much less success there. The same could be argued for Henderson, who stands at a mere 5 foot 9 and would hold a distinct size disadvantage were he to move up in weight. But according to Henderson, it is only a matter of time until the choice is no longer an option.
When asked whether or not the cut to lightweight would be “too much” as he put it at some point down the line, Henderson stated that ”to a certain extent, yes.” A hard revelation for any athlete, let alone the champion of a division, to come to. The obvious comparison to make here is to that of light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who has stated on several occasions that the light heavyweight division can only hold him for so long. But where Jones would maintain the longest reach in the UFC were he to move to heavyweight, Benson’s reach is more than six inches shy of current welterweight champion Georges. St Pierre. Considering the trouble Henderson had landing his combinations on the much smaller Frankie Edgar in their second fight, these kinds of disadvantages could prove too great to overcome were he to move up a class.
But for now, it is all speculation, as Henderson has his sights set on the Stockton native — who has been relatively quiet in the months leading up to their fight — and their upcoming clash on December 8th. Let’s just hope Hendo doesn’t plan on sporting a cowboy hat at the weigh-ins, or things could get ugly in a hurry.
So what do you think, Potato Nation? Does Henderson’s plight serve as a prime example of the problems caused by the massive weight cuts MMA fighters endure to gain a slight advantage? As we’ve seen in the resurgence of Anthony Johnson as a light heavyweight – not to mention Edgar’s success at 155 — the idea of fighting at one’s natural weight class can prove beneficial in terms of career longevity. Then again, Johnson is able to hold his own in a bigger weight class because of the insane size advantage he used to hold at welterweight, whereas Henderson would essentially become the small fish in a big pond were he to move up.
But perhaps we should first focus on whether or not Henderson is actually able to make it tohis next title defense before we let our minds be consumed by other, more frivolous matters.
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.
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.
Diaz has earned his shot at the belt with three consecutive wins over Takanori Gomi (first-round armbar), Donald Cerrone (gangsterish unanimous decision), and Jim Miller (second-round guillotine choke). Meanwhile, Henderson is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, and just beat Frankie Edgar for the second time last weekend at UFC 150. Will Diaz be the one to stop Bendo’s juggernaut-like momentum?
Diaz has earned his shot at the belt with three consecutive wins over Takanori Gomi (first-round armbar), Donald Cerrone (gangsterish unanimous decision), and Jim Miller (second-round guillotine choke). Meanwhile, Henderson is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, and just beat Frankie Edgar for the second time last weekend at UFC 150. Will Diaz be the one to stop Bendo’s juggernaut-like momentum?
A fourth main-card fight is expected to be added to the FOX broadcast in the near future. For now, I’m gonna go with…Henderson by unanimous decision, MacDonald by second-round TKO, and Gustafsson by split decision. Your thoughts?
Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar The headliner for UFC 150 resulted in yet another controversial decision in a lightweight title fight. This time, Ben Henderson retained the title in a split decision where two judges.
Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar
The headliner for UFC 150 resulted in yet another controversial decision in a lightweight title fight. This time, Ben Henderson retained the title in a split decision where two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Henderson and one score it 49-46 for Edgar. Edgar was upset with the decision after the fight and the internet consensus has Edgar winning the fight. I scored the fight 48-47 for Edgar but I don’t have a problem with the outcome at all and I don’t think saying that Edgar was “robbed” is an accurate assessment as many are claiming.
Henderson clearly won the first round and everyone is in agreement on that. He employed the unique strategy of attacking Edgar’s calf with kicks to slow the contender’s movement and had great success in doing so. Edgar’s calf was swollen and bruised by the end of the round. The former champion came back in the second round and evened up the scoring by knocking Henderson down with a clean right hand and then trying to finish with a front guillotine. The scoring on this round is also not in doubt but starting with the third round, judging became absurdly subjective. The final three rounds were some of the most difficult to score in any recent fight. Both fighters landed at various times but neither landed anything significant. Edgar seemed to be moving forward and bringing the fight to Henderson but compustrike showed that Henderson outlanded Edgar in significant strikes. On the other hand, Edgar won the takedown battle. Add that up and you get a judging nightmare. Boxing has long had an unwritten rule that the champion gets the nod if the fight is too close to score and that may have been what happened in this fight.
Scoring aside, Henderson leaves this fight as the champion and he will fight Nate Diaz next. Diaz has patiently been awaiting his opportunity and he will be rewarded with a title shot as promised. For Edgar, the loss has to be gutting but he is still one of the best fighters in the division. A fight with either Donald Cerrone of Anthony Pettis would make sense and a win against either would likely catapult him right back into top contendership. And of course, an immediate title shot awaits him if he ever decides to drop to featherweight, which he could easily do.
Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard
In the clear fight of the night, Donald Cerrone came back from being hurt early to knockout Melvin Guillard. And the entire fight lasted seventy six seconds. In the opening exchange, Guillard landed a counter left hook to Cerrone’s jaw and dropped him. Guillard rushed forward and flurried for the finish as Cerrone backed up toward to the cage. But Guillard was unable to end the fight and backed up to reset. Almost immediately upon reentering the pocket, Cerrone landed a kick just above Guillard’s temple. As Guillard wobbled, Cerrone rushed in and landed a right hand that turned out Guillard’s lights for at least a minute. If I have ever have seventy six seconds to kill, I’m not sure I could think of a better way to spend it than rewatching this fight.
The loss is a set back for Guillard and his chances of getting back into the title picture seem unlikely at this point. Despite that, he is always one of the most entertaining fighters in the division and because of that, he will always have a place in the UFC. Cerrone has now won six of his seven fights in the UFC with his only loss coming to title contender Nate Diaz. The lightweight division is absurdly stacked but he deserves to be on the fighters at the top of the stack. He, Anthony Pettis and Frankie Edgar seem to be the top three fighters outside of the champion Ben Henderson and Diaz. Hopefully, Cerrone will face either Pettis or Edgar in his next fight and either one of those fights would be guaranteed fireworks.
Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman
Jake Shields impressed no one by grinding out another unimpressive decision over Ed Herman. Herman actually won the first round by pushing Shields against the fence and controlling position. He never threatened the former Strikeforce champion but he did enough to win the round. That strategy came back to bite him in the second round as Shields used the clinch against the cage to score a takedown and controlled Herman from top position for the remainder of the round. He landed no significant strikes and his most threatening attack of the round was a weak kimura attempt. Herman learned from his mistake in the second round and came out looking to keep his distance and strike with Shields in the third round. But Shields managed to close the distance and repeated his performance from the previous round to earn the decision.
Ed Herman is basically the same fighter he’s always been. He has some dangerous submissions but lacks a striking game to support his grappling. Against the right opponent, he can provide exciting fights but he doesn’t present much of a threat at 185 lbs. Shields continues to be a bit of an enigma since coming to the UFC. He defeated Dan Henderson and that can’t be ignored but he also struggled with Ed Herman, which is not the mark of a great fighter. I don’t think the UFC can justify giving him a top tier fighter after that performance but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him matched with Yushin Okami after they both earned victories at UFC 150.
Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts
This fight was a much of a mismatch in the cage as it was on paper. Roberts managed to land a few punches early in the first round but once Okami decided to take the fight to the ground, it was over. Roberts seemed to know that his only chance was to score a knockout and threw wild power shots at Okami through the early part of the first round. He landed a few but Okami was never in danger. Eventually, Okami tired of the striking and clinched with Roberts. From there, he dragged him to the mat and quickly passed to mount. Roberts gave up his back and Okami used the position to ground and pound Roberts who seemed ready to give up before the bell sounded. The second round was similar except that Okami didn’t wait to clinch and drag Roberts to the mat. Instead, he did it early in the round and once again ended up back mounted on Roberts throwing punches. Roberts seemed to accept his fate and covered up waiting for the fight to be stopped, which it was.
Roberts clearly doesn’t have what it takes to compete at the top of the division and is a middling middleweight at best. But Okami needed a fight like this to prove that he is still a dominant fighter. A loss to the best pound for pound fighter in the world followed by a crazy knockout loss in a fight he was dominating don’t mean that Okami is done. He deserves to be competing at the top of the division and should get a contender in his next fight.
Max Holloway vs. Justin Lawrence
UFC 150 started with an excellent striking display by Max Holloway and Justin Lawrence. In the first round, Lawrence landed the majority of the power strikes. He spent the round head hunting in search of the knockout. He managed to land a couple of clean punches but never seemed to have Holloway in major trouble. Despite that, he definitely looked to be the more dangerous fighter. The second round began in similar fashion but Holloway showed why his brand of Muay Thai is the most dangerous standup attack in the sport. Despite Lawrence’s power, Holloway stuck to his technical approach and eventually scored the finish in true Muay Thai fashion. He landed a knee to the liver and followed it closely with a right to the body and a left hook to the liver. Clean punches to the chin aren’t the only way to end a fight and Holloway proved that by decimating Lawrence to the body. The liver shots rendered him unable to do anything other than curl up in a fetal position and Holloway pounced with a flurry to finish the fight. His performance was a tribute to trusting technique over power and should serve as a reminder to the rest of the MMA world as to how effective body work can be with four ounce gloves.
For Lawrence, the loss is a set back but he put on a good enough show to prove that he has a future in the sport. After only five career fights, he will certainly improve going forward and will likely be given a winnable fight in his next appearance. Holloway now has back to back wins and at just twenty years old, seems to have a bright future. If the UFC is smart, they will not rush him into fights against more experienced opponents and allow him to continue to work on his game against other young fighters. He is only in the UFC because he was able to step in as a last minute replacement against Dustin Poirier and he is not yet ready for the upper or even middle levels of the featherweight division. Hopefully, the UFC will be smart and give him another similarly inexperienced prospect in his fight and allow him to continue to grow.
The 150th UFC PPV takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which means tonight’s drinking game will lead you to the ER with liver poisoning as Joe and Goldie talk about the altitude. Headlining the card is the rematch to end all rematches when former WEC standout and current UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson squares off against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.
Also on the broadcast is the front-runner to win Fight of the Night honors when Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone locks horns with Melvin Guillard. I’m told that Jake Shields and Yushin Okami are scheduled to fight Ed Hermann and Buddy Roberts respectively, and that’s totally cool, But you’re only buying this card for one reason: to see if the gold changes hands at the end of the night.
“Live” (emphasis on the quotation marks) round-by-round results from the Henderson – Edgar 2 pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Jason Moles. Refresh the page every few minutes hours for all the latest, and please toss in your own inebriated thoughts in the comments section.
The 150th UFC PPV takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which means tonight’s drinking game will lead you to the ER with liver poisoning as Joe and Goldie talk about the altitude. Headlining the card is the rematch to end all rematches when former WEC standout and current UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson squares off against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.
Also on the broadcast is the front-runner to win Fight of the Night honors when Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone locks horns with Melvin Guillard. I’m told that Jake Shields and Yushin Okami are scheduled to fight Ed Hermann and Buddy Roberts respectively, and that’s totally cool, But you’re only buying this card for one reason: to see if the gold changes hands at the end of the night.
“Live” (emphasis on the quotation marks) round-by-round results from the Henderson – Edgar 2 pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Jason Moles. Refresh the page every few minutes hours for all the latest, and please toss in your own inebriated thoughts in the comments section.
Let’s get this started, shall we?
Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway
Round 1: Holloway’s crotch says, “BUY MY SHORTS.” Don’t ask me why that’s the first thing I noticed about him. Feeling out process ended with a few kicks from Lawrence. Nice high kick from Holloway. Both trade a few nice punches. Lawrence seems to be landing more strikes. %$#&!!! Holloway just drilled “The All American Kid” All- American nuts! Okay, just walk it off. Lawrence pushing forward and gets the takedown. Right back up. Lawrence is bleeding. Holloway lands a knee to the chin. Swing and a miss by Holloway. 13-12 Significant strikes favoring Lawrence. Holloway drills him in the balls again as the end of round horn sounds.
Round 2: Stick and move by Holloway. The men both trade snapping kicks. Lawrence with a lot of front kicks, sidekicks. Crowd starting to boo but it dies down. Holloway lands a clean right hand. Holloway demonstrating very nice counter punching — stuffs a takedown as well. Lawrence landing 47% of his strikes. Stick and move by both men. Holloway stuffs a takedown my grandmother could have seen, and she’s got cataracts. Now he tags Lawrence which leads to an opening for a deep knee to the gut. Left hook to the liver and “It’s all over!!!”
Winner Max Holloway Rd. 2 TKO
Up Next – Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts
Buddy Roberts walking out to ‘Bleed It Out’ by Linkin Park. Yushin on the other hand… Holy $%&@! Is that Tank Abbott??? Nope, he’s sober.
Round 1: Roberts comes out swinging. Looking for a head kick. Okami lands a nice left. Buddy keeps connecting with the jab. Okami just got clipped. Roberts landing knees from the clinch. Okami tries and fails twice to get the takedown from the clinch against the cage. Okami finally drags him down,. takes his back, transitions to his guard. Okami in half guard, not much action. Crowd boos on cue. Yushin in side mount with arm control and lands a few shots. Okami in full mount, takes the back, lands a few shots to the back of the head but Herb doesn’t seem to mind. A bunch more punches and the horn sounds.
Round 2: Buddy goes forward and slips on the mat. Lands a shot once he recovers. Okami with a straight left. Clinches and tries to drag him down. Success. Buddy transitions into a guillotine. Back on their feet. Okami nails a double leg. Moves into half guard. Looking to utilize elbows, looks some more… Full mount by “Thunder” and Buddy rolls over on his belly. Okami just keeps punching him in the skull. Herb calls it.
Winner: Yushin Okami – Rd. 2 – TKO
Better grab a Mt. Dew and a handful of Yellow Jackets before Jake Shields middleweight debut against Ed Herman.
Herman walking out wearing a Dethrone hoodie. His music sucks, but his bobcat shirt makes up for it. Man, I almost forgot how pale redheads are. Shields walks out to what sounds like The Glitch Mob dubstep remix of Seven Nation Army. My wife says his nipples are really “pokie” – like they’ve been stretched. Wow – Rashad really wasn’t joking around when he said you’d notice a difference.
Round 1: Shields immediately throws a kick. Both men attacking. Herman goes for takedown, Shields hip tosses him. Back on the feet. Clinched and they both trade blows. Herman lands a knee. Shields gets the trip takedown. Ground and pound from Jake. Both men back up, dirty boxing along the fence. These guys have separation issues. Jake has a sponsor sticker for a radiator company. Nice elbow by Herman. Jake looking for the guillotine. *yawn* Thank God the fans can boo for me. Finally some action – that guys claps the 2×4′s together to signal 10 seconds left.
Round 2: Looks, I can text the UFC who I want to win. Nice. More kicks by Shields. Herman initiates the clinch again. Take down – Shields on top in half guard, now side control. Working for a kimura.
Sorry guys, @#&^$@*$^#*(# internet! Sorry.
Round 3 almost over – Shields has been dominating Herman on the ground for most of it. Shields in full mount. Herman trying to score pints off his back, but he’s no Miguel Torres. Shields lands more and more punches as the crowd boos louder. Both men swinging but it’s all over. The judges will decide who moves forward…. but the fans are not impressed with their performance.
Winner: Jake Shields by Unanimous decision.
Coming up next: Former teamates and BFF’s, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Melvin “I don’t care if I’m indoors, I’m wearing my damn sunglasses anyway!” Guillard.
Denver crowd tried to snatch the infamous sunglasses of Guillard. #fail – Apparently being a Blackzillian automatically gets you a Pretorian sponsorship. *Cue Kid Rock music* Here comes Cowboy, baby. The TapouT cowboy hat looked much better than this Muscle Pharm stuff. Cerrone looks happier than a pig in, well, you get the point.
Round 1: “Taller is Cerrone”, says Mike Goldberg. Guillard gets booed heavily as Buffer introduces him. Remember, it’s not because Denver is racist, it’s because they love them some homegrown talent – and Cerrone is home. Cowboy quick on the offensive with a head kick. Guillard is beating the living daylights outta Cerrone!!!!! Punches in bunches AND a knee to the midsection. Dang! Okay, he looks shocked but he;s good now. Damn! Now Cowboy lands a head kick followed up by a hard right hand and Guillard is asleep!!! When will he ever learn that sunglasses are unnecessary indoors?
Winner: Donald Cerrone – Rd. 1 KO
Craziest fight of the year? Yeah, I think so. They both hug it out, now that “The Young Assassin” has come to. I would pay to be at their after party.
Main Event Time: Benson “Smooth” Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar
Frankie runs to the Octagon, gets greased up -legally, not the Anderson Silva way. Like a leprechaun who’s been had, he wants his gold back. Ben is strutting his way to the prep point. The champ’s calm and focused. It’s Time!
Round 1: Edgar in the black/red trunks littered with sponsors. Henderson must have sponsored himself because his upper body is plastered on his poster… oh yeah, tighties for the champ. Empty jabs by Henderson. Egdar landing a few shots, most noticeably a left hand. Leg kick by Smooth. Edgar nearly looses his balance after Henderson kicks his leg again. Another one and he’s down. Scrambled to the feet. Edgar returns the favor and throws a leg kick. Frankie’s left calf is swollen and red. Both men throwing combos, landing shots here and there. Frankie lands a leg kick. Edgar catches the leg kick this time, takedown but the champ locks in a guillotine. Remember how many times Frankie caught kicks last time? Round over.
Nate Diaz in attendance.
Round 2: 12-8 Sig strikes in favor of the champ for round 1. Another leg kick by Smooth and Edgar drops to a knee but recovers. Frankie feints a takedown. Lands a punch. Leg kick and a hook for Edgar. Both guys switching stance. Leg kick by the champ. Edgar drops Henderson with a wicked uppercut. Looking to sink in the choke. Smooth works up to his feet. but Frankie still has a hold of him. Henderson keeping a hand on the ground to avoid knees. Edgar is bleeding. Separation! Henderson misses a big axe kick. Then shoots but is stuffed by Frankie. Big body kick by the champ the the horn.
Round 3: Half landed/half blocked head kick by Benson. Lots of jabs by him as well, most hit air. Frankie lands a leg kick. Ben returns the favor and charges. very nice jab by Benson. Both men exchange blows. Champ telegraphs a head kick. Edgar ducks. Same for his right hard. More of the same – I hit you, you hit me. Repeat. Still no mention of altitude – my drinking game sucks – I can still see the keys clearly. The champ tries to Sweet Chin Music the former champ – misses. 20-16 sig strikes so far in favor of Smooth. Champ charges and Frankie Edgar tries to hit HBK’s finisher as the horn sounds.
Championship rounds, deep water, point of no return, etc….
Round 4: Guys are just banging. Leg kicks, straight punches, more leg kicks – it’s all here. Neither man looks to have a significant advantage, both are active. Edgar gets a takedown. Big kick from the ground and Ben is back up. Until he Frankie locks in the choke. Leaning on the champ is Edgar. Applying pressure on the choke. Now they stand. Crowd’s chant is inaudible. Henderson lands a jab that knocks Edgar’s mouthpiece out. TIME OUT! Okay, back to work. Leg kick by Frankie is beautiful. My face hurts from watching all of these punches. Edgar catches ANOTHER kick. and Keeps it standing. Horn.
Round 5: Edgar’s corner tells him to punch him against the cage. Edgar’s footwork prevents being kicked in the lead leg again. Nice shots by the NJ native. Champ is fighting like he’s already won… Edgar is hungry. Crowd chants, “Frankie!” Caught another kick did Frankie. Puts a right hand on his face. Keeps attacking with combos. Now the champ looks to score points with a few jabs. Edgar’s counter striking is impressive. Frankie hits a nice leg kick. One minute left!!! Nice body shot by Edgar. Champ comes forward, lands s shot. Both are going at it now. End of fight.. Judges will now calculate the scores, correctly, we hope.
And the winner is…..
Ben HendersonFrankie Edgar by unanimous decisionsplit decision!
The crowd is NOT happy. “I fight for you guys! I try to finish fights!” -Henderson.
Edgar says he’s not sure if he’ll go back and watch this fight again. Dude looks heartbroken. Fans love him though.
Fresh off a stellar UFC on FOX last week, the UFC will be looking to build on some much needed momentum heading into this weekend’s UFC 150 card, where Ben Henderson will look to defend his lightweight strap against the man he took it from, Frankie Edgar. Will Colorado’s ridiculously high altitude continue to plague fighter’s cardio as it did at UFC 135 and Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon? Possibly, but it’s going to take more than a shortness of breath to stop the Gambling Enabler from paying out, as we’ve landed in the money on our past two events. So join us for a fight-by-fight dissection of UFC 150 and an inside look at how to come away with a significantly fatter wallet. All odds, per usual, are courtesy of BestFightOdds.
Perez is a submissions specialist as is 1-0 in the UFC with a submission via armbar. Ken “Keith” Stone has more UFC experience and has lost two tough bouts to Eddie Wineland and Scott Jorgensen but has since won two straight fights. He has yet to be submitted in his MMA career, so I believe Stone will have enough to fend off Perez’s submissions game and win this fight on the cards.
Fresh off a stellar UFC on FOX last week, the UFC will be looking to build on some much needed momentum heading into this weekend’s UFC 150 card, where Ben Henderson will look to defend his lightweight strap against the man he took it from, Frankie Edgar. Will Colorado’s ridiculously high altitude continue to plague fighter’s cardio as it did at UFC 135 and Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon? Possibly, but it’s going to take more than a shortness of breath to stop the Gambling Enabler from paying out, as we’ve landed in the money on our past two events. So join us for a fight-by-fight dissection of UFC 150 and an inside look at how to come away with a significantly fatter wallet. All odds, per usual, are courtesy of BestFightOdds.
Perez is a submissions specialist as is 1-0 in the UFC with a submission via armbar. Ken “Keith” Stone has more UFC experience and has lost two tough bouts to Eddie Wineland and Scott Jorgensen but has since won two straight fights. He has yet to be submitted in his MMA career, so I believe Stone will have enough to fend off Perez’s submissions game and win this fight on the cards.
Chico is making his Octagon debut here and has the ability to grind out Pague in this fight. On the other hand, Pague is the type of fighter to fight his opponent’s fight, which this leads me to believe he may be upset by Camus. Pague is hovering around -200 favorite and I would not be willing to lay that price. I will look for the prop that this fight goes the distance.
Michael Kuiper will be looking for his first win in his second attempt inside the octagon, but he may come out on the short end if Hamman is able to use his size advantage to control this fight. Hovering around pick’em odds, I would place my money on Hamman here. Hamman is only 30 and is a tested veteran in the UFC, I would go again with the prop this fight goes the distance as Kuiper will surely not give away another loss easily.
Nik Lentz NCAA div 1 wrestling should get the job done here. The prop that this fight goes the distance should also be explored. “The Carny “is coming off back to back losing efforts, but actually managed to put in a thrilling effort in his most recent FOTN-earning loss against Evan Dunham at UFC on FOX 2. That said, I believe Mitsuoka will not have an answer for Nik’s ground game and will be frustrated up until the end of this fight with Lentz’s wet blanket routine. Not a great value at 30 cents on the dollar, but Lentz will make it into my parlay.
Tommy Hayden had a tough go in his UFC debut and I think history will repeat itself again as Bermudez has simply fought on another level of competition than that of Hayden. Bermudez will most likely be looking to finish this fight and the line is under -300 which makes parlaying Dennis rather alluring. I do not see this fight going to the cards; a prop the fight does not go the distance may also be a profitable option.
Last time Okami was a -600 favorite, things did not go so well for him. Granted, this time will surely be different, with Okami simply out powering the late replacement Roberts and coming out as the winner, but do you want to lay -600 on Okami? I don’t, because there’s nothing worse than having a parlay crushed by a -600 fighter losing (see Jay Glazer’s reaction to Tito Ortiz beating Ryan Bader from the dana vlogs).
Both fighter’s are coming off very impressive winning performances at the TUF 15 Finale; Holloway thoroughly dominated Pat Schilling and Lawrence broke out the highlight reel head kick KO on John Cofer for good measure. Pick’em odds on this fight are for good reason and I think this fight will be settled inside the distance. Holloway’s stand up is something special, even in a losing effort against Poirier he forced Dustin to take the fight to the ground because “The Diamond” did not like what he was seeing from Max on his feet. I think that the longer this fight goes, the better the chances are that Holloway will win. Not a parlay must, but good value on Holloway here.
I like Guillard as the underdog in this fight. Having trained at Jackson’s with Cerrone leads me to believe that Melvin has the upper hand going into this fight, considering he knows what Cerrone has been up to while training with a camp that Cerrone know’s very little about in the meantime. Now 1-0 with the Blackzilian’s, Guillard showed us that he has finally learned some submission defense in his UFC 148 win over Fabricio Camoes. The question is: What else has Melvin learned that may surprise Cerrone in this fight? I am not counting Cerrone out completely, as this could easily look like Cerrone vs. Stephens with the longer fighter simply getting off first and winning the fight on the outside, but the plus money on Guillard is tempting and I will save some space for a long shot parlay with “The Young Assassin.” This fight may go the distance as well, not so much the high altitude effecting the fighters (as they are both used to training at high altitude), but simply the fact that they are so familiar with each other’s style that we may see a 15 minute chess match.
I want to say Shields and move on here, but Herman simply seems to be the perfect type of fighter to give Jake a ton of problems. Herman is a strong grappler and Jake is returning to MW for the first time here, so couple that with the fact that Herman may be able to deliver his own Hendo like right hand in this fight and we have all the makings for an upset. If Shields is able to get this fight to the ground, will he be able to keep Herman on his back or submit him? It all depends on how strong Jake is now and this is where I am unsure and unwilling to lay -200 on Jake. The fight should go the distance and this is where I will place my money, picking Shields these days is too risky.
I like the bigger, stronger Bendo in this fight. Frankie may use all the footwork he wants and may stick Henderson with the jad for five rounds, but at the end of the day, Ben is simply going to remind us all why Edgar needs to drop down to 145 and start fighting guys his own size. I take nothing away from Frankie and I think he will be a top lightweight if he stays at 155, but Benson is the perfect mix between size and speed for Frankie, where prior opponents like Maynard had the power but lacked the speed to catch Frankie. As this fight goes into the later rounds, Benson should take control and get the win.
Parlay 1
Lentz-Bermudez-Henderson
Parlay 2
Lentz-Hamman-Stone-Henderson
*Parlay 3 (the degen special)
Holloway-Guillard-Henderson-Hamman-Bermudez
Props
-Lentz/Mitsuoka goes the distance
-Herman/Shields goes the distance
-Henderson/Edgar goes the distance
-Bermudez/Hayden does not go the distance
Bet what you feel comfortable with, higher on the parlays and lower on the props.
As an example, if you place $20 on parlay 1 and 2, with $5 on each prop you should be safe, as this was profitable on the past two GAE’s which is where you want to be.
Again, feel free to share hostility when/if these picks fall apart.
