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UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson Proves Smooth is Deserving Champion

As is often the case when UFC fights are decided by decision, not everyone agreed with the choice of the judges to award Ben Henderson the victory over Frankie Edgar in their UFC lightweight title bout.But in this case, they got it right.Sure, Dana Whi…

But in this case, they got it right.

Sure, Dana White chimed in and said he had this fight going to Edgar. But he also acknowledged that it was close one way or another and reminded fans that Joe Silva had Henderson winning by a landslide.

Check it out.

White acknowledged that Henderson clearly had the advantage in damage, a fact that shouldn’t be ignored.

Kevin Richardson’s take of the Baltimore Sun chimed in with similar points.

It was clear to me after the fight that Henderson had the better cardio and he out-boxed, wrestled and kicked his way to victory over Edgar. It also was Henderson’s octagon aggression that set him apart and the deciding factor in the win. Henderson landed the most-devastating kicks and finishes. Henderson landed the biggest hit of the fight with an upkick that dropped the champion.

It’s hard to disagree with that. It’s one of the challenging aspects of judging UFC fights—what do you give more weight to, punches landed or damage done? If you saw two guys fighting in the street, would you say the guy who landed more punches won, or the guy that appeared to hurt his opponent more?

You’d say the latter.

As to how much that should apply to MMA remains up for debate, but in this case, I think Henderson clearly was a worthy winner.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are more entertaining than the Slam Dunk Contest.

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UFC 144 Results: Evaluating Joe Lauzon’s Place in the Lightweight Division

Joe Lauzon was on his way to putting together a very nice succession of wins yesterday at UFC 144 as he stepped into the cage with the WEC’s final lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis. The bout took place in front of a sold-out crowd at the…

After stopping Melvin Guillard in just 47 seconds at UFC 136 last October, it appeared as if Lauzon was finally ready to step into title contention. That was before Anthony Pettis sent him back to the middle tier of the division with a lightning-quick head kick. The knockout came just 81 seconds into the first round.

Lauzon’s career in the UFC thus far has been characterized by an ebb and flow of wins and losses that places him definitively between the medium and top competition in his division. Give him a Gabe Ruediger or a Curt Warburton, and Lauzon will grind them into powder; give him a Kenny Florian or an Anthony Pettis, and it’s a different story.

Though Lauzon is at somewhat of an impasse, he isn’t there alone. Fighters like George Sotiropoulos, who Lauzon lost to in 2010, Evan Dunham and even Donald Cerrone inhabit essentially the same territory. The difference for Lauzon is he’s been there longer.

None of this is to say that Lauzon isn’t exceptionally talented. It’s just that for the UFC’s insanely competitive lightweight division, exceptional talent isn’t a singular trait and may not be enough on its own. Bensen Henderson and Frankie Edgar, for example, are both where they are because they’re consummate fighters who are proficient in every aspect of the game.

Lauzon’s skill set strongly resembles his old mentor B.J. Penn’s. As Penn’s last two performances at lightweight demonstrated, the boxing and BJJ tandem may not be enough in the upper reaches of today’s lightweight picture, where fighters are quick, mobile, and capable of threatening with the full arsenal of strikes.

After yesterday’s loss, it will be interesting to see if Lauzon makes any significant changes to his camp.

Although he has his share of professional talent to train with at Lauzon MMA, his gym in Bridgewater, MA, and has worked with grappling wunderkind Ricky Lundell recently, maybe the answer is to shake things up. One could argue that those home gyms tend to get a little insular after a while.

Whatever he decides, Lauzon is good enough to continue winning fights in the UFC. At this point, though, it seems fair to suggest that he’ll need to expand his game if he wants to continue to thrive in the jungle of 155.

Let’s hope he does, as he’s one of today’s most furious and exciting fighters to watch.

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UFC 144 Aftermath Part Two: Barbarians in Beast Mode

(Props: Getty Images/UFC.com)

Admit it: When Mark Hunt first caught Cheick Kongo with a counter left, you were excited. When Hunt chased Kongo down and dropped him with a series of fight-ending straight rights, you cheered. No matter how much money you bet on Kongo to win, you couldn’t help but buy into the feel-good story that has been Mark Hunt’s UFC run. To see the same Mark Hunt who only earned a shot in the UFC due to the PRIDE buyout- the guy who Dana White offered to pay to just walk away from the UFC before being submitted by Sean McCorkle- thoroughly outclass one of the heavyweight division’s best kickboxers is a testament to his newfound dedication to the sport. The fact that he’s thirty seven years old only makes it all the more remarkable.

Mark Hunt improves to 8-7, marking the first time he’s had a winning record in the sport since his record was 5-4 in 2008. Although his hopes for either a title shot or a fight on next week’s Australia card are both pretty optimistic (to put it mildly), Hunt clearly demonstrated that he’s ready for stiffer competition. As for Cheick Kongo, this loss shouldn’t hurt his standing with the UFC- he was already a gatekeeper to begin with. We already knew that he wasn’t a serious contender for the heavyweight championship- the way he was outclassed by Mark Hunt’s striking and his inability to get Hunt on the ground proved it.

(Props: Getty Images/UFC.com)

It’s disappointing to say this, but I think we can all agree that the “Sexyama in the UFC” experiment is officially a bust. Jake Shields, with his subpar striking and inclination to grapple, was about as handpicked of an opponent as Yoshihiro Akiyama could get for his welterweight debut. Yet for three rounds last night, Shields outpointed Akiyama on his way to a unanimous decision victory. While Akiyama did manage to stuff Shields’ takedown attempts throughout the fight, he offered nothing in return. Save for a beautiful throw in the second round, Akiyama never had Jake Shields out of his element in this fight- let alone actually in danger. And even though Jake Shields didn’t come close to finishing Akiyama until the final minute of the fight, he was clearly in control throughout the bout. Yoshihiro Akiyama has now lost four straight fights (or five, depending on how you feel about the Alan Belcher decision), and although he has shown flashes of greatness, the thirty six year old’s UFC run has been overwhelmingly unremarkable.

There may not have been a bigger surprise from last night than Tim Boetsch’s victory over Yushin Okami. Not only because Boetsch was such a heavy underdog, but also because of how he won. “The Barbarian” failed to live up to his nickname for most of their fight, being outgunned by Yushin Okami’s jab heavy offense in the first round and nearly punched out by Okami’s ground and pound after a failed guillotine in the second. When Tim Boetsch realized that nothing short of a finish would get him a victory, he threw caution to the wind and put everything behind his strikes. And it actually worked, as Okami found himself out cold fifty four seconds into the third round. While Okami seemed to be back to normal throughout the fight, once he got caught by “The Barbarian” he resorted to the same gunshy ”Thunder” we watched get picked apart by Anderson Silva. Okami needs to shake his fear of getting caught- something much easier said than done after back-to-back knockout losses.

As for the evening’s end of the night bonuses, which were all worth $65k, Submission of the Night went to Vaughan Lee for his armbar against Kid Yamamoto. Lee survived Yamamoto’s early onslaught and transitioned to the armbar after a failed triangle choke during the prelims on FX. Knockout of the Night went to Anthony Pettis for his brutal head kick against Joe Lauzon. It’s being rumored that Pettis has earned a rematch with Benson Henderson for the title. Don’t ask me how knocking out a gatekeeper like Lauzon earns a guy a title shot, but we’ll keep you posted if the rumor turns out to be true. As we mentioned earlier, Fight of the Night went to Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson for their five round main event title fight.

Also of note, the UFC has decided to give Takeya Mizugaki his win bonus, even though he lost a unanimous decision to Chris Cariaso. Mizugaki earned takedowns and stayed on top of Cariaso for the entire fight, but Cariaso’s submission attempts, elbows from the bottom and sweeps earned him the victory in the eyes of the judges. Admittedly, I thought Mizugaki was going to be the victor while watching the fight, but only because top control usually wins, regardless of whether the guy on top is actually attacking or not.

Full Results:

MAIN CARD (PPV)

Ben Henderson def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision- UFC Lightweight Championship
Ryan Bader def. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via unanimous decision
Mark Hunt def. Cheick Kongo via TKO (strikes) at 2:11 of Round One
Jake Shields defeats Yoshihiro Akiyama via unanimous decision
Tim Boetsch def. Yushin Okami via TKO (strikes) at :54 of Round Three
Hatsu Hioki defeats Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision
Anthony Pettis def. Joe Lauzon via KO (head kick) at 1:21 of Round One

PRELIMINARY CARD

Takanori Gomi def. Eiji Mitsuoka via TKO (strikes) at 2:21 of Round Two
Vaughn Lee def. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto via submission (armbar) at 4:29 of Round One
Riki Fukuda def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision
Chris Cariaso def. Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision
Issei Tamura def. Tiequan Zhang via KO (punch) at 0:32 of Round Two

– Seth Falvo

UFC 144 Results: Jake Shields and the Top 10 Welterweights in the UFC

On Saturday, Jake Shields returned to the Octagon to face off against Yoshihiro Akiyama, who was making his debut in the welterweight division.
If Akiyama were to win, he would have jumped into the top-ten welterweights, and could have shown the world …

On Saturday, Jake Shields returned to the Octagon to face off against Yoshihiro Akiyama, who was making his debut in the welterweight division.

If Akiyama were to win, he would have jumped into the top-ten welterweights, and could have shown the world that he always belonged at welterweight.

However, Jake Shields was able to outstrike Akiyama and earn the unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Shields reminded everyone that he is still a top fighter. Let’s see just how close to the top he is.

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UFC 144: What We Learned About Ryan Bader

At UFC 144, Ryan Bader scored unarguably the biggest win of his career.Before the sold-out crowd at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Bader defeated former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson over the course of three rounds, taking an uncontested de…

At UFC 144, Ryan Bader scored unarguably the biggest win of his career.

Before the sold-out crowd at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Bader defeated former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson over the course of three rounds, taking an uncontested decision win against a formidable and world-renowned opponent.

Now, Bader has now asserted himself once again as a top contender in the light heavyweight division with that pivotal performance and will likely be just a few wins away from a shot at the title.

Ryan Bader/Laron Zaugg for MMAWeekly.com

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UFC 144 Results: Anthony Pettis Deserves a Title Shot

When Anthony Pettis entered the UFC at the beginning of 2011, he carried with him a promised title shot after capturing the WEC lightweight belt at the promotion’s final event. Unfortunately for Pettis, Frankie Edgar fought Gray Maynard to a draw at UF…

When Anthony Pettis entered the UFC at the beginning of 2011, he carried with him a promised title shot after capturing the WEC lightweight belt at the promotion’s final event.

Unfortunately for Pettis, Frankie Edgar fought Gray Maynard to a draw at UFC 125 and rather than sit back and wait, he elected to take a fight. That proved to be a bad choice, as Clay Guida used his wrestling to control Pettis for three rounds and the loss cost Pettis his chance at UFC gold.

Since that loss, Pettis has reeled off two straight victories over tough competition. He outworked veteran Jeremy Stephens late last year and scored an impressive knockout of the night performance against Joe Lauzon in Japan.

With Benson Henderson defeating Frankie Edgar to become the new lightweight champion at the same event, the cards have fallen into place for Pettis to finally get his title shot. After all, it was Henderson that Pettis defeated in the final WEC event to take that belt.

The UFC’s busy 2012 schedule, as well as a few unexpected results, has muddied the waters in the 155-pound division. Some speculated that the winner of the Jim Miller-Nate Diaz bout on May 5 might be next in line, but that would put Henderson’s first title defense sometime in August. Couple that with the fact that Henderson defeated Miller just two fights ago, and the case for Pettis gains more ground.

A rematch between Henderson and Pettis should be an easy sell for the UFC and with Pettis’ convincing finish of Lauzon, the fight makes a lot of sense. It’s no surprise that UFC President Dana White hinted at the matchup in the UFC 144 post-fight press conference. Now it may just be a matter of time before the fight becomes official.

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at The MMA Corner. For anything related to MMA, Follow @RobTatumMMA.

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