According to MMAJunkie.com, Ben Henderson’s manager, Malki Kawa, has said his client has verbally agreed to face Clay Guida.Kawa said he feels that Henderson has done enough to earn a title shot. However, Henderson would agree to face Guida only …
According to MMAJunkie.com, Ben Henderson’s manager, Malki Kawa, has said his client has verbally agreed to face Clay Guida.
Kawa said he feels that Henderson has done enough to earn a title shot. However, Henderson would agree to face Guida only if their fight were broadcast on the UFC’s debut on FOX, slated for November 12.
Guida’s manager,John Fosco, first proposed the idea of potentially lining up the two lightweight contenders earlier this week, only for Henderson’s camp to respond and seemingly accept.
Fosco said Guida vs. Henderson is a perfect fight to headline the upcoming UFC on FOX event.
“We will attract a whole new number of viewers on prime-time TV because we know Clay’s style,” Fosco said.
“We know it’s high-pace and high-energy.”
Henderson and Guida are known for their frenetic pace and high-octane offense that have both entertained fans and solidified them as a fan-favourites.
Both competitors have also added some momentum for themselves, as Henderson and Guida are currently enjoying respective winning streaks. Guida has racked three consecutive wins over Anthony Pettis, Takanori Gomi and Rafael dos Anjos. Henderson has compiled two straight wins over Mark Bocek and Jim Miller.
While the main event remains a mystery for now. Kawa hopes the UFC complies with both parties agreement and believes the bout would be an entertaining main event.
“I can’t think of any better way for the UFC to make its FOX debut than for Ben to fight Clay in the evening’s main event,” Kawa said.
“There’s no possible way Ben and Clay won’t deliver an absolute thriller.”
As reported by MMAJunkie.com, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida and Ben “Smooth” Henderson have expressed an interest in facing one another on Nov. 12’s UFC on FOX 1.Though John Fosco and Malki Kawa, Guida’s and Henderson’s managers, respectively, believe the…
As reported by MMAJunkie.com, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida and Ben “Smooth” Henderson have expressed an interest in facing one another on Nov. 12’s UFC on FOX 1.
Though John Fosco and Malki Kawa, Guida’s and Henderson’s managers, respectively, believe their clients have each done enough to warrant the next Lightweight title shot, they welcome the opportunity to have the fighters make their case on network television.
The question is, does this fight make sense, not only for fans, but for the UFC?
Let’s take this one point at a time:
Guida vs. Henderson is a meaningful fight
The UFC Lightweight division is currently a jumbled mess. Anthony Pettis defeated Ben Henderson to become the final WEC Lightweight champ, with a guarantee to fight the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125.
Edgar and Maynard fought to a thrilling draw, causing Dana White to immediately announce a rematch.
Rather than stay on the sidelines, Pettis decided to stay active and accepted a fight against Guida, losing in a one-sided decision and becoming Guida’s fourth straight victim.
Meanwhile, Jim Miller quietly put together a seven-fight win streak against solid competition and positioned himself as a legitimate Lightweight contender. Henderson won his UFC debut against a game Mark Bocek, and was then given a significant challenge in Miller, who he completely dismantled.
Get all that?
A fight between Guida and Henderson would pit “the guy who beat the guy” against “the guy who beat the other guy,” thus clearing up the current Lightweight imbroglio. The winner would clearly deserve a title shot against the eventual winner of Edgar vs. Maynard 3.
Guida and Henderson are both marketable fighters
There are few fighters in the UFC as likable as Clay Guida and Ben Henderson.
Guida is the ultimate workhorse, a non-stop whirlwind with a never-say-die attitude and a tenacious in-your-face style. He literally lives in a van by the river while he trains, and pays homage to his blue-collar background with his nickname, “The Carpenter.”
Ben Henderson is equal parts tenacity, energy and humility. He embarks into arenas bouncing to gospel music, is an absolute pitbull in the cage, and after winning the biggest fight of his career, drops to his knees and begs Dana White, not to give him a title shot, but to give his lesser-known teammates a shot at the big time.
And, oh yeah…did I forget to mention that they both have manes of hair that a Pantene model would kill for?
If the UFC and FOX can’t market these guys during episodes of House, then we should all probably just pack our bags and go home. Though they don’t have the name recognition of a Brock Lesnar or Georges St. Pierre, they are certainly compelling characters that can draw in a viewer.
Guida vs. Henderson is something a true fight fan can look forward to
Last, but certainly not least, this would not only be an important and marketable fight, it would be a good fight.
This would be a great stylistic match up—both fighters have relentless wrestling, each averaging over 4 takedowns per 15 minutes, and both are active strikers, on their feet, and on the ground. Say what you want about wrestling in MMA, neither Guida nor Henderson can be accused of “laying and praying.”
Though Henderson is the better striker, Guida is incredibly durable and has never been knocked out. Likewise, Guida has won by submission 15 times out of 29 wins, but Henderson has only been submitted once thanks to his Gumby-like limbs and seemingly nonexistent veins.
Pitting two active, pressure fighters against one another will make for a sure-fire thriller. Wherever this fight may go, on the ground, to the clinch, or at a distance on their feet, Guida and Henderson are guaranteed to go for each other’s throats at 100 mph for 15 straight minutes.
Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson is a must-make fight for UFC on FOX 1.
Dana White and Joe Silva can’t pass up the opportunity to make this meaningful, compelling fight between marketable and well-matched fighters.
It is a perfect way to drum up future PPV interest for a championship fight against the winner of Edgar vs. Maynard 3, and is sure to please casual and hardcore fans alike.
I’ll leave my fight prediction for a later date, but no matter the outcome, both fans and the UFC are guaranteed to win.
We asked, you answered, and the results are in. Our loyal readers believe that a match against Clay Guida should be next for Ben Henderson. After Henderson’s victory at UFC on Versus 5, we asked you who you believed Henderson should fight next. An…
We asked, you answered, and the results are in. Our loyal readers believe that a match against Clay Guida should be next for Ben Henderson.
After Henderson’s victory at UFC on Versus 5, we asked you who you believed Henderson should fight next. An overwhelming majority—60 percent—of those who voted believed that Henderson should square off against Guida in his next match; the winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard matchup came in at a distant second.
In his fight against Miller, Henderson looked like he took his game from “good” to “Beastmode.” Miller tried for multiple submissions during their 15-minute battle, but Henderson remained composed, worked his way out of each attempt, and made Miller’s face pay dearly in the process. Henderson would go on to win the bout by way of unanimous decision.
With zero doubt, Henderson is a top 10 lightweight. After his highly impressive performances against Miller and Mark Bocek, it would be difficult to argue otherwise.
A match against Guida for a future shot at the lightweight title could be a war for the ages—if Guida wanted it to be.
Guida has recently been chastised for “playing it safe” instead of fighting with the pace and fire that we have become accustomed to. But with a potential title shot on the line, we may see the Guida of old; the one we have all come to love.
But we will find out should the UFC make it happen.
Be sure to vote on the current poll and look for the results early next week.
Ben Henderson came out and beat Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5 in convincing fashion. Now it seems that win has given him the confidence to take on anybody in the UFC lightweight division.On Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Henderson said he would lik…
Ben Henderson came out and beat Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5 in convincing fashion. Now it seems that win has given him the confidence to take on anybody in the UFC lightweight division.
On Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Henderson said he would like to face a plethora of UFC lightweights.
“I want to fight everybody,” Henderson said on Tuesday. “Literally. I want to beat everybody on the 155-pound roster in the UFC. I want to smash everybody. I want everybody put on notice. I’m not coming for a belt. I’m coming to beat you.”
Henderson has never been the man to call out anybody, but the whole lightweight division has been put on notice.
This new-found confidence has come after a dominating performance over who most likely would have been the No. 1 contender in lightweight division.
“My job is to fight,” Henderson said. “I will say if Dana, Lorenzo [Fertitta], Sean [Shelby] and Joe give me a title shot, I will take it and I will have a great performance,” said Henderson. “But if it’s not a title shot, that’s fine too. Going against the No. 1 contender, after you have that sort of performance against the No. 1 contender, what else is there? Not a close decision, not squeak by … what’s the next logical step? There’s the winner of the title fight.”
Clay Guida versus Henderson has been the fight that has made a lot of people going crazy. The fight makes a lot of sense to Henderson.
“If you think about it, Guida beat the No. 1 contender in Pettis, and I beat Jim Miller who was No. 1 contender,” Henderson said. “So I guess it does make sense for him and I to match up. I have no problem with that. Guida, we know, will fight anyone. But why fight someone if you can get the next title shot? Why take an extra fight if you can get the title shot?”
This would be a great opportunity for both Henderson and Guida. One sticking point though is that Guida has been vocal about facing Henderson stating how he beat Anthony Pettis. Pettis beat Henderson at WEC 53 by unanimous decision.
Title shot or a fight with Guida next, either way the fans win big here.
For unfunny jokes, MMA news and reaction from events, you can follow me on Twitter: @SalDeRoseMMA.
With ESPN unwilling to cough up a few extra quid to show UFC shows outside of their regular contract, it was Premier Sports who stepped in so British fans could watch Chris Lytle’s final fight against Dan Hardy in the early hours of this past Mon…
With ESPN unwilling to cough up a few extra quid to show UFC shows outside of their regular contract, it was Premier Sports who stepped in so British fans could watch Chris Lytle’s final fight against Dan Hardy in the early hours of this past Monday morning.
The broadcast began in the welterweight division as Amir Sadollah faced Duane Ludwig.
This proved to be an intriguing three-round encounter. Ludwig did a great job in the striking department in the first two rounds, his big left hook rocking Sadollah a number of times. When Sadollah went for the takedown, Ludwig was able to escape quite easily.
Although Sadollah upped his game a little in the third, he still looked a step behind Ludwig. He scored with a couple of good kicks, but his punches looked slow and sluggish. The fight ended with Ludwig scoring a takedown.
So with the fight going the distance, it was over to the judges. All three gave the fight to Ludwig. Awesome performance.
It was down to the lightweight division for the next fight, as Charles Oliveira took on Donald Cerrone.
A short feeling-out period at the beginning of this one saw both men testing the waters with punches and kicks. There was a brief pause following Cerrone’s inadvertent kick south of the border, but when the action began, the striking just got better and better.
The end came when Cerrone scored with a hook to the body. Oliveira went down, and Cerrone went in for the kill with the ground and pound. The referee stepped in to give Cerrone the impressive TKO win.
The lightweight action continued with Jim Miller against Ben Henderson.
Henderson put in a tremendous performance here. For the first two rounds, Miller went for a variety of submission attempts—from chokes to leg locks to arm locks—but Henderson managed to escape each and every time, coming back with some wicked-looking ground and pound. He busted Miller open with an elbow in the second round.
Miller dropped his man in the third, but Henderson looked even better than he had in the first two rounds, controlling the fight on the ground and almost getting the win with a rear naked choke, as well as unleashing more awesome strikes.
Once again the judges were called into action, with all three giving the fight to Henderson. Surely the former WEC champion is ready for a UFC title shot now!
The main event featured welterweight action as Hardy faced Lytle in Lytle’s last ever fight.
This proved to be a great main event. For nearly 15 minutes Hardy and Lytle engaged in a tremendous striking battle. Hardy tried a kick early on, but when Lytle caught his leg Hardy never threw another kick, preferring to box with Lytle instead.
Both guys had their moments throughout the fight, but the fact that Lytle was getting Hardy to fight his kind of fight said a lot about his tactics. Just when it looked like Hardy was upping his game in the final moments of the fight, Lytle went for a guillotine on the ground.
The Brit tried to fight back, but it wasn’t long before he tapped out in the final minute of the fight to give Lytle the submission win. A fitting ending to one of the UFC’s best fighters.
In conclusion: For a while it looked like Brits would have to sit in front of their computers or look for a download site to see this show—until Premier Sports came in at the last minute, offering this show for free. I’m glad they did because this was a great show.
The four fights featured here certainly delivered, but I can’t decide if Miller/Henderson or Hardy/Lytle was the better fight.
As for Premier Sports coverage, kudos to this subscription channel for giving British fans the chance to see this for free, even if they did suffer from the ESPN problem of coming back late from commercial breaks a couple of times.
But who knows, maybe this will be the proverbial kick up the backside ESPN needs because I know a lot of people only subscribe to the channel to see the UFC. If they thought Premier Sports (or Sky Sports for that matter) might bid for the rights when ESPN’s contract is up, they may consider sticking their hands in their pockets and buying the rights to the shows that weren’t in their original contract.
So, in all, the UFC’s fifth foray onto America’s Versus channel gets the thumbs up from me for its all-around quality.
Wrestling haters of MMA, your prayers have been answered.Ben “Smooth” Henderson handled Jim Miller with some difficulty, but he survived the submission attempts and delivered the most punishment that any man has ever inflicted on Miller en route to his…
Wrestling haters of MMA, your prayers have been answered.
Ben “Smooth” Henderson handled Jim Miller with some difficulty, but he survived the submission attempts and delivered the most punishment that any man has ever inflicted on Miller en route to his electrifying unanimous decision win over the AMA Fight Club phenom this past Sunday at UFC on Versus 5.
Miller was seen as a win away from a Clay Guida, a Melvin Gullard or maybe even the winner of Edgar vs. Maynard 3 at UFC 136 if he wanted Frankie Edgar or Gray Maynard, but Henderson did what nobody else had done to Miller up to that point, and it’s now attracted quite the conversation.
The same opponents for whom Miller would’ve been lined up are now the opponents for whom Henderson is lined up for if he wished, which asks the question:
“Is The Smooth One good enough to win the belt one day?”
In answering this question with an emphatic, “Yes, he is,” I’d like to also pose a counter-question:
“Is there any good reason to think Ben Henderson will never win the belt one day?”
Now, to that counter-question, I say there is probably one or two good reasons, one being Guillard and the other possibly being Guida, but Miller was also a reason why Bendo would never win the belt.
Guillard is a better striker than Bendo, and Guida could be a much more aggressive threat on the ground than Bendo, but it seems as though it will take a sledgehammer, a sniper-rifle or a trio of Showtime Kicks from Roy Nelson to put the former WEC lightweight champion down.
With Henderson’s improving striking skill set, his already scary submission offense and his indescribably-frighteningly-superb submission defense, it seems unfathomable to believe that Henderson will end his UFC run without winning the UFC lightweight title at least once.
He has the talent and the skills, and now all he needs to do is shut down the men standing between him and either Edgar or Maynard.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Ben Henderson’s manager, Malki Kawa, has said his client has verbally agreed to face Clay Guida.