Tag: benson henderson

UFC Live on Versus 5 Results: Ranking the 5 Best Fights of the Night

UFC Live: Hardy vs Lytle delivered the goods.  Out of 12 total bouts, only five went to a decision.Heading into the main event, I was sure some of the earlier scraps would earn “Fight of the Night”, but low and behold, it was the main event that o…

UFC Live: Hardy vs Lytle delivered the goods.  Out of 12 total bouts, only five went to a decision.

Heading into the main event, I was sure some of the earlier scraps would earn “Fight of the Night”, but low and behold, it was the main event that officially earned the UFC’s “Fight of the Night”.

Chris Lytle vs Dan Hardy was an excellent battle, but was it the best fight of the night?

Which fights got overlooked by the glitz and glamour of the main event?

These are the five best fights from UFC Live on Versus 5: Lytle vs Hardy.

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UFC Lightweight Championship: Who Is the Top Contender?

The 155 pound division has always been one of the deepest in mixed martial arts and right now is no different. At the beginning of the year it seemed pretty clear what direction the lightweight division was going—Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard wo…

The 155 pound division has always been one of the deepest in mixed martial arts and right now is no different.

At the beginning of the year it seemed pretty clear what direction the lightweight division was going—Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard would battle for the prestigious UFC lightweight title with the winner facing WEC’s final lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.

As with most things in life, nothing goes according to plan. Fast forward a mere 227 days later and the lightweight title picture is a tangled web of uncertainty.

Last night, the consensus top contender Jim Miller put his seven bout unbeaten streak on the line against former WEC lightweight champ Ben “Smooth” Henderson.

Keyboard warriors and media aficionados considered this to be a tune-up fight for the AMA Fight Club product, but it appears that Henderson didn’t get the memo.

Both men brought the action with a highly competitive opening 10 minutes. On my unofficial score card they tied it with a round a piece heading into the final stanza.

Henderson made sure there were no questions about the winner with his actions in the final-round battering a tired Miller which earned him a 10-8 round on one of the judges’ score cards.

The MMA Lab product is unbeaten since joining the UFC and after dominating the former top contender can make a serious claim to being the top challenger following the Pettis-Maynard rubber match.

However, he is not alone. Both Clay Guida and Melvin Guillard also have the ability to challenge for the throne.

Guida stretched his winning streak to four bouts with the biggest win of his career spoiling the coming out party of the final WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.

Guillard appears to be in the best shape of his career since hooking up with Greg Jackson—collecting five straight victories, three of them by way of stoppage.

“The Young Assassin” wasted no time looking to get back into the octagon following his July stoppage of Shane Roller taking a bout with jiu-jitsu ace Joe Lauzon.

With their impressive credentials and winning streaks, any of them would be fine challengers for the title. It seems we will have to trim the fat to find the real top contender.

Since Guillard has already agreed to a bout with Lauzon it makes sense to match the other contenders up in a title eliminator.

Both combatants have been known to throw caution to the wind and put on thrilling performances inside the cage and this would be the best way to find the true No. 1 contender.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Versus 5: Report Cards for All Main Card Fighters

Chris Lytle ended his MMA career in a way that most fighters do not—with a win.On Saturday, Lytle announced that his bout against Dan Hardy would be his last. Proving to all that he wanted to put on one last great performance for the fans, Lytle …

Chris Lytle ended his MMA career in a way that most fighters do not—with a win.

On Saturday, Lytle announced that his bout against Dan Hardy would be his last. Proving to all that he wanted to put on one last great performance for the fans, Lytle stood and traded with Hardy for 14 minutes, before securing the victory with a guillotine choke.

In other action, Ben Henderson made his case for the No. 1 contender position in the lightweight division when he went “beastmode” on Jim Miller for three rounds.

As the betting underdog, Donald Cerrone, scored his first ever knockout victory when he made quick work of Charles Oliveria.

And in the opening bout on Versus, Duane Ludwig put on a Muay Thai clinic for three rounds against Amir Sadollah. 

So despite the fact that they won or lost, how did each fighter perform? Read on to find out. 

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UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: What Ben Henderson Must Do To Beat Jim Miller

Ben Henderson has come something of a long way in such a short time.Last year he had come off of two submission wins (one over Jamie Varner and one over Donald Cerrone) to face Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at WEC 53.Almost one year later, Henderson is com…

Ben Henderson has come something of a long way in such a short time.

Last year he had come off of two submission wins (one over Jamie Varner and one over Donald Cerrone) to face Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at WEC 53.

Almost one year later, Henderson is coming off of a loss to Pettis and a big UFC 129 win over Mark Bocek to face Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle.

Now if there’s one thing you must know off the bat, it’s that both men have a way of going for the finish, and that way of going for the finish is the submission.

Miller scored his first real TKO-by-strikes-type win over Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128, and he has shown improvements in his striking as well as some beautiful Jiu-Jitsu and aggression in his offense.

The only problem with Henderson is that Henderson has been locked in some of the tightest submissions ever, and yet he’s looked like he was waiting on a cup of coffee with a stoic glare in his eyes.

He has shown a high threshold of pain when it comes to submissions, and even though his guillotine choke on Jamie Varner had the arm locked in as well, his power seemed all conspicuous when he forced Varner to tap from that tight submission.

Must he wear down Miller and try show his strength in submission form to beat his seasoned foe come Sunday?

Absolutely.

Standing with Miller might be a mistake, and much like Miller, Henderson is a master of submission offense even if the fight hits the ground.

However, Henderson’s only shot is to take the fight to the ground himself, or show that he can maintain his composure from off his back and transition to Miller’s back for either a rear naked choke attempt, the second Twister in the UFC, or even just a chance to flatten Miller out and lay in some ground and pound.

Anything is possible when two submission specialists take the fight to the ground, but Henderson may benefit from being the one to get it to the ground first.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle Preview, Top 4 Storylines from Free Card

This Sunday, the UFC will hold its fifth card on Versus, of which many of the bouts will have significant ramifications for the lightweight and welterweight divisions in particular. As Dan Hardy looks to rebound from three consecutive losses after…

This Sunday, the UFC will hold its fifth card on Versus, of which many of the bouts will have significant ramifications for the lightweight and welterweight divisions in particular. 

As Dan Hardy looks to rebound from three consecutive losses after already receiving what looks to be his last hall pass, he will take on the always entertaining Chris Lytle. 

Meanwhile, in the lightweight division, Jim Miller will look to solidify his bid for No. 1 contender status against former WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson. 

Elsewhere, the young up-and-coming Charles Oliveira will take on Donald Cerrone in a bout a little lower down the lightweight ladder as Cerrone will hope to insert himself amongst the divisions elite. For his part, Oliveira will be looking to add the veteran’s name to his list of wins. 

After June’s Versus event, fans may not expect to see quite as much drama, but they can expect some very important results to come from the night’s bouts.

Here are four things to watch for in the UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle card.

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UFC Live on Versus 5: Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson Head-to-Toe Breakdown

There will be a much clearer picture at the top of the lightweight divison after Jim Miller and Ben Henderson settle some things on Sunday night n UFC Live on Versus 5.
These two exciting fighters are set to lock it up for the number one contender spot…

There will be a much clearer picture at the top of the lightweight divison after Jim Miller and Ben Henderson settle some things on Sunday night n UFC Live on Versus 5.

These two exciting fighters are set to lock it up for the number one contender spot in the division, and both have taken quite different paths to get here. Miller has scratched and clawed his way up almost exclusively in the UFC promotion, while Henderson made a smooth climb up in another promotion to helicopter in to the UFC with a solid name for himself.

These will be a very close fight to predict, but here is my head to toe breakdown.

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