After capturing the lightweight title at UFC 144 last Saturday in Japan, Benson “Smooth” Henderson swung over to South Korea along with his mother, where he received a hero’s welcome reminiscent of the glorious ending to Star Fox 64. Sure, it wasn’t quite as grandiose as the trumpet blaring fiesta Junior Dos Santos received in Brazil, but one can only show so much enthusiasm when guards armed with semi-automatic rifles stand just a few feet away.
As you may or may not know, Henderson’s mother is Korean, making Benson the second Korean blooded UFC champion in the promotion’s history (B.J. Penn being the first).
Join us after the jump for more musings from the land of Oldboy, including a heartwarming video of Benson and his mother, and a horrifying look at a group of 6-15 year old children who could whoop all our asses.
After capturing the lightweight title at UFC 144 last Saturday in Japan, Benson “Smooth” Henderson swung over to South Korea along with his mother, where he received a hero’s welcome reminiscent of the glorious ending to Star Fox 64. Sure, it wasn’t quite as grandiose as the trumpet blaring fiesta Junior Dos Santos received in Brazil, but one can only show so much enthusiasm when guards armed with semi-automatic rifles stand just a few feet away.
As you may or may not know, Henderson’s mother is Korean, making Benson the second Korean blooded UFC champion in the promotion’s history (B.J. Penn being the first).
Check out some more musings from the land of Oldboy below.
Was I the only one hoping Ben would reenact that Enziguri kick he tried in the first round of the Edgar fight? And speaking of kicks, I must make note of the incredible 720 kick pulled off at 1:28 in the second video, as well as the kick ass, Match Game-esque soundtrack played throughout. Each is as inspiring as the other.
After recently being crowned UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson doesn’t seem to be short on challengers.While former champion Frankie Edgar has been seeking an immediate rematch with Henderson, Anthony Pettis has also been requesting a second b…
After recently being crowned UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson doesn’t seem to be short on challengers.
While former champion Frankie Edgar has been seeking an immediate rematch with Henderson, Anthony Pettis has also been requesting a second bout with the newly-crowned champion.
Pettis outlasted Henderson in a five-round title bout at WEC 53, thanks to his infamous “Showtime Kick,” which helped award him the victory.
Henderson has a list of contenders lined up to face him, but he recently told MMAFighting.com that Pettis shouldn’t be one of them.
Pettis was a recent guest on ProMMARadio and responded to Henderson’s comments. He believes that the former WEC lightweight champion is hesitant to face him in a rematch.
“I mean, he just won the belt and he doesn’t want to give it up that quick and if he fights against me, he’s not going to hold on to that belt for awhile,” Pettis said. “So, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to fight me either.”
Pettis rebounded off a loss to Clay Guida to defeat Jeremy Stephens and Joe Lauzon, who he knocked out at UFC 144 this past weekend. The win was another highlight knockout for Pettis, who feels his current two-fight win streak earns him a title shot.
“There is no clear number one contender in the UFC (lightweight) division except myself,” he said. “Let’s set this up, let’s see who’s really number one in the lightweight division.”
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was the last man to defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson prior to Jackson heading to the UFC.And, it appears that they may meet each other once again.Rua spoke about the idea of facing Jackson to TATAME.com, who faced the former UFC l…
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was the last man to defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson prior to Jackson heading to the UFC.
And, it appears that they may meet each other once again.
Rua spoke about the idea of facing Jackson to TATAME.com, who faced the former UFC light heavyweight champion in PRIDE nearly a decade ago.
“The fight against Rampage will happen eventually,” Rua said of a possible rematch. “He won’t retire before fighting me and neither am I.”
Jackson had called out the Brazilian and requested a rematch at UFC 144 in Japan. However, Jackson was unaware that Rua had already fought Dan Henderson and the turnaround would be too soon. He was offered Ryan Bader instead.
Jackson would go to lose to Bader in the co-main event. Jackson dropped back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.
Rua said he hoped to fight at UFC 144, as he credited Japan as the place where he began his career.
“It was in Japan where I appeared to the world. I missed it there,” he said. “I like the Japanese people, I really like Japan.”
(UFC 148 will settle the centuries old debate once and for all. Which is stronger, the widow’s peak or the Leno chin?)
ThoughThe Ultimate Fighter 15 is still a couple weeks away from airing, it seems that Urijah Faber has already begun the war of words with opposing coach, bantamweight champ, and long time rival Dominick Cruz. Set to square off for a third time at UFC 148 in June, the trash talking between these two has reached an all time high, with Faber recently setting the bar at a hole ‘notha level during a recent appearance on Inside MMA. Angered over comments that Cruz made regarding his fighting style, Faber was unrelenting in his analysis of the bantamweight champ:
That’s what fighting’s about, right? And that’s how I approach the fight. Let’s finish this fight! And he’s doing ‘point fighting.’ This isn’t a karate tournament. I mean, do you wanna take hits to the head away next? He’s alive right now because there’s rules in MMA and I had to release his neck and let him breathe! You’re welcome, Dominick Cruz, for giving you life and letting you live! Next time, I’m gonna do the same thing. I’m gonna let you live, but it’s gonna be painful.
Something tells us that we’ll be in for more than “stank bref” jokes this season.
Join us after the jump for more interesting tidbits from around the MMA world.
(UFC 148 will settle the centuries old debate once and for all. Which is stronger, the widow’s peak or the Leno chin?)
ThoughThe Ultimate Fighter 15 is still a couple weeks away from airing, it seems that Urijah Faber has already begun the war of words with opposing coach, bantamweight champ, and long time rival Dominick Cruz. Set to square off for a third time at UFC 148 in June, the trash talking between these two has reached an all time high, with Faber recently setting the bar at a hole ‘notha level during a recent appearance on Inside MMA. Angered over comments that Cruz made regarding his fighting style, Faber was unrelenting in his analysis of the bantamweight champ:
That’s what fighting’s about, right? And that’s how I approach the fight. Let’s finish this fight! And he’s doing ‘point fighting.’ This isn’t a karate tournament. I mean, do you wanna take hits to the head away next? He’s alive right now because there’s rules in MMA and I had to release his neck and let him breathe! You’re welcome, Dominick Cruz, for giving you life and letting you live! Next time, I’m gonna do the same thing. I’m gonna let you live, but it’s gonna be painful.
Something tells us that we’ll be in for more than “stank bref” jokes this season.
While we’re on the subject of heated rivalries, let’s talk about the possibility of a Ben Henderson/Anthony Pettis rematch, shall we? After starching Joe Lauzon at UFC 144, it seems Pettis is all but destined to rematch the newly crowned lightweight champ, whether or not the general public feels he deserves it. And by “general public,” we mean none other than the champ himself. In an interview with MMAFighting, Henderson put it all into perspective:
I think there’s a line. I don’t think he is first in line. I’m going to handle my business, you know, defend the belt a couple times. He’s going to handle his business. I’m sure he’ll get two or three more wins, maybe highlight reel wins, maybe sturdy wins against solid wrestlers where he can show and work on his take down defense or whatever. But he’s going to do his thing and I’m going to do my thing. I’m sure well match up one day and I’m sure it will be for my UFC belt. I don’t know if he’ll be next, but I’m sure it will happen.
Pettis was quick to retort when questioned on the issue in an interview with Pro MMA Radio, stating that Henderson was more or less afraid of him considering how their lightweight tilt back at WEC 53 went down:
If I was him, I would say the same thing too. I mean, he just won the belt and he doesn’t want to give it up that quick and if he fights against me, he’s not going to hold on to that belt for awhile, I mean, I match up bad for him, and for (him to say) for me to work on my takedown defense, last year he couldn’t take me down and we went five rounds and I won that decision. So, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to fight me either.
The last WEC Lightweight Champion went on to say that “there is no clear number one contender at lightweight” except himself, and that the upcoming UFC on Fox 3 clash between Jim Miller and Nate Diaz is simply too far away to let Henderson sit that long. And he makes a good point. Aside from possibly setting up an immediate rematch between Frankie Edgar and Henderson, there are really not that many, if any, current lightweights that should be in line for a shot. But does a win over Lauzon, who is 3-3 in his last 6, warrant a title shot, especially considering the win only improved Pettis’ UFC record to 2-1? Discuss, Potato Nation.
Did Benson “Smooth” Henderson’s dethronement of Frankie Edgar as UFC lightweight champion in UFC 144 set a new precedent on how future UFC fights will be judged, giving more bearing to effective striking than frequency of takedowns? A…
Did Benson “Smooth” Henderson’s dethronement of Frankie Edgar as UFC lightweight champion in UFC 144 set a new precedent on how future UFC fights will be judged, giving more bearing to effective striking than frequency of takedowns?
According to FightMetric statisticians, Henderson was the more active and lethal striker (and it showed on his opponent’s face), while Edgar was significantly more effective in the takedown department.
Throughout the fight, Henderson landed more strikes in quantity and quality. On the other hand, Edgar, though no slouch in striking, was more successful in landing takedowns.
In every round, except in the third where both fighters were equal with one takedown apiece, Edgar had the edge. More so, adding up all the takedowns, Edgar collected a total of five successful attempts compared to Bendo’s one!
And Edgar was even more aggressive in that third round in the takedown department, with four attempts to Bendo’s uno. We can argue, though, that the newly-crowned champion was more efficient with a 1:1 ratio.
In short, if takedowns alone were and are the basis for winning a decision in UFC, then Edgar would’ve retained his title hands down.
But more often than not, an effective strike does more damage than a consummated takedown—and the discrepancy is pronouncedly huge.
How many times has a takedown per se finished a fight?
True, there was Frank Shamrock’s iconic first-round double-leg lift and slam that triumphantly brought his title defense versus Igor Zinoviev to a quick ending—along with the latter’s fighting career.
And in Pride FC, Mark Coleman took down Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, breaking the Brazilian’s arm as punishment for “forgetting” how to fall properly.
But let’s not get too far back in history; we already have premium examples from last Saturday’s UFC 144 itself.
Quinton Jackson did slam Ryan Bader explosively hard on the canvas, and Darth landed with his left arm twisted and seemingly dislocated. Well Bader, in that same round, proceeded to get the top position on the ground and rained strikes on Jackson—using the elbow of that very same arm.
Now compare whatever “effect” of that slam to Anthony Pettis’ head kick on Joe Lauzon…
If the three judges of the UFC 144 Championship main event did consciously give more weight to effective striking over effective takedowns, then they did the right thing. This could be their lasting legacy to the UFC and to MMA in general.
For posterity’s sake, let’s honor them by remembering their names: Jordan Breen, Freddie DeFreitas and Chris Nelson.