Tag: UFC 150

Benson Henderson vs Frankie Edgar: Can Henderson Become the UFC’s Next Big Star?

Ben Henderson defended his title for the first time at UFC 150 on the weekend against former champion Frankie Edgar. He has cemented his position at the top of the UFC’s lightweight division and has all the potential to become the promotion&rsquo…

Ben Henderson defended his title for the first time at UFC 150 on the weekend against former champion Frankie Edgar. He has cemented his position at the top of the UFC’s lightweight division and has all the potential to become the promotion’s next big star.

He is now undefeated in five straight matches and holds an admirable 17-2 record.

His only loss in the last five years has come at the hands of Anthony Pettis, who hasn’t made anywhere the near the same impact since entering the UFC as Henderson has.

However, it’s clear that Henderson isn’t the big UFC name yet. The live gate for his first headline event as champion drew a paltry $650,000 —the worst figures since 2007, according to Dana White.

Compare that to the nearly $2.1 million light heavyweight sensation Jon Jones drew in his first title defence against Quinton Jackson last year.

That fight also, ironically, took place in Denver, Colorado, the scene of last Saturday’s event, and it underscores the gulf between the two stars.

An explanation for this could be that Jones fought eight times for the promotion before his first title defence, compared to Henderson’s four fights. It could also be that Jones, without exception, finished everyone put in front of him.

That can hardly be said of Henderson, who has gone the distance in all of his UFC fights.

As it stands, Henderson, as big of a talent as he is, will have to prove himself against some of the other competition in the stacked lightweight division.

He is next scheduled to fight Nate Diaz, a huge name in his own right and one that could greatly enhance Henderson’s status in the sport. That could be the first of many fights that would make him the UFC’s next big star as long as he can hold the belt for a little while longer.

The big question, considering the depth of talent in the lightweights, is whether Hendo can really clean out the division. He is a fighter constantly adding to his game and improving his skill set and there is no reason why he can’t.

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UFC 150 Results: 3 Reasons Nate Diaz Will Defeat Benson Henderson

Ben Henderson scraped through his rematch against Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 on Saturday and retained the lightweight title in the process. His next match has already been decided.Henderson will face Nate Diaz, a man who’s looked scintillating in h…

Ben Henderson scraped through his rematch against Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 on Saturday and retained the lightweight title in the process.

His next match has already been decided.

Henderson will face Nate Diaz, a man who’s looked scintillating in his last three matches.

If he struggled to impose his will against Edgar, Diaz may be too much for him to handle. Here’s why.

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UFC 150 Results: Why Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson Must Be a Trilogy

When UFC decides to make a trilogy out of a feud, usually it requires that both fighters have each won one match and at least one of them had a close result. In the case of Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar, the fights have been so close that eve…

When UFC decides to make a trilogy out of a feud, usually it requires that both fighters have each won one match and at least one of them had a close result. 

In the case of Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar, the fights have been so close that even despite Henderson’s two wins, this feud needs to become a trilogy. 

Henderson has defeated Edgar twice this year. The first time was at UFC 144, with Henderson ultimately prevailing in a competitive bout. The judges sided with Henderson, and he was awarded a unanimous decision victory and the UFC lightweight championship. 

At UFC 150, things were much closer between the two. In fact, watching the fight, it did appear that Edgar did more to warrant a decision victory. Henderson did win the first round—that much was obvious. 

After that, it was anyone’s guess. It never felt like one fighter had a decided advantage over the other, so if you want to make a case for Henderson winning, there is certainly not much of an argument to be made against that. 

But when the scores were announced—with Henderson winning a split decision—Edgar exploded with rage because he felt that he did enough to win. Again, it was so close that no one could argue that what the judges said was wrong. 

Yet when you have two fighters who are so evenly matched, and they have two fights that end up being victories for one person by the slimmest of margins, the temptation is always there to settle any debate once and for all. 

Fans love trilogies, even if they aren’t between the biggest-name fighters in the sport. There is an easy story to tell in order to market a third fight to the fans. And, most importantly, there is a legitimate reason to do a third fight. 

Edgar is at a point right now where he will probably have to win a fight before he gets a title fight, but when he does, Dana White can’t shy away from making the right match for the sport and the fighters just because it has happened twice before. 

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Henderson vs. Edgar: Is Frankie Edgar Done as a Lightweight Title Contender?

It would be unfair to talk of Frankie Edgar leaving the division, especially considering the bitterly close loss to Ben Henderson in their rematch at UFC 150 last Saturday. But the New Jersey native has been hearing such talk for years, and having fail…

It would be unfair to talk of Frankie Edgar leaving the division, especially considering the bitterly close loss to Ben Henderson in their rematch at UFC 150 last Saturday. But the New Jersey native has been hearing such talk for years, and having failed to recapture his belt, the talk will only grow louder.

Edgar is hopelessly outsized by all the top lightweights, and it’s remarkable that he was able to capture the title at all, considering his size.

But capture the title he did, and to say that he couldn’t do it again is premature.

Still, it’s a long way back to contention considering how stacked the division is, and that fact alone should mean that Edgar has to reconsider his career at that weight class.

Henderson’s next match is set to be Nick Diaz, after which he has any number of men, from Anthony Pettis to Donald Cerrone, to contend with.

Edgar would have to rise to the top of this pack if he wants another shot at the belt. However, if he chooses to drop 10 pounds and fight at 145, an instant title match is awaiting him against Jose Aldo.

That fact alone could decide the future of his career. The potential to reign over the featherweights rather than continue to struggle against the 155-pounders, must be extremely tempting.

Even though Edgar refuses to accept that he’s outmatched at lightweight, he has also admitted that dropping to 145 is a possibility. Now, having lost against Henderson for the second time, that possibility could be becoming more real.

That wouldn’t have to mean that he’s done at 155. He could return as a rejuvenated fighter after spending some time below, and try and take one more shot at the lightweight title. At age 30, his career is far from over, and he has the time and talent to make that happen.

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UFC 150 GIF Party: The Girl in the Red Dress, Cerrone KOs Guillard + More


(Props: Zombie Prophet/BloodyElbow)

Whoever’s in charge of giving away free UFC tickets to hot chicks has really upped their game lately. (God bless you, pervert.) Last week we had the bounce-tastic “Girl in the White Dress,” who entertained us between fights at UFC on FOX 4. And on Saturday at UFC 150, it was the eye-catching blonde shown above — either Melissa Debling or her long-lost twin sister — whose glorious rack nearly distracted us from the vile ginger neckbeard situation happening directly behind her.

But Girl in the Red Dress wasn’t the only memorable seat-filler this weekend. Check out two more ladies trying to make love to the camera at UFC 150 (with varying levels of success) plus a couple gifs from the actual fights, after the jump…


(Props: Zombie Prophet/BloodyElbow)

Whoever’s in charge of giving away free UFC tickets to hot chicks has really upped their game lately. (God bless you, pervert.) Last week we had the bounce-tastic “Girl in the White Dress,” who entertained us between fights at UFC on FOX 4. And on Saturday at UFC 150, it was the eye-catching blonde shown above — either Melissa Debling or her long-lost twin sister — whose glorious rack nearly distracted us from the vile ginger neckbeard situation happening directly behind her.

But Girl in the Red Dress wasn’t the only memorable seat-filler this weekend. Check out two more ladies trying to make love to the camera at UFC 150 (with varying levels of success) plus a couple gifs from the actual fights, after the jump…


(Mom??)

UFC 150: Is Jake Shields Anything More Than a Gatekeeper in the UFC?

Jake Shields marked his return to the middleweight division with a win over Ed Herman at UFC 150 on Saturday, in an underwhelming performance which is likely to win him few fans. Over three tortured rounds, Shields secured a unanimous decision in his f…

Jake Shields marked his return to the middleweight division with a win over Ed Herman at UFC 150 on Saturday, in an underwhelming performance which is likely to win him few fans.

Over three tortured rounds, Shields secured a unanimous decision in his favour over Herman, who, bizarrely, decided that wrestling with the master grappler would secure him the win.

This was Shields’ second win in a row after he dropped two bouts in the welterweight division, and comes after he beat former middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama in a similarly tortured three-round decision.

That match was Shields’ last at welterweight and prompted him to move back up to 185—the same weight where he won the Strikeforce title in 2009 before moving to the UFC. But a return to what he believes is a more natural weight class has hardly delivered the fireworks he expected.

Such performances are unlikely to lead him to any title match, especially in a division where Anderson Silva reigns supreme. Instead, they raise questions as to whether Shields can be anything more than a gatekeeper.

The 15-fight winning streak he amassed in his previous incarnation outside the UFC, where he could boast wins over Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Paul Daley and Dan Henderson, seems a long time ago now.

The win over Henderson, in particular, led to him being imported into the UFC as a possible challenger for George St. Pierre’s title.

But, so far, he has failed to deliver.

His first fight for the promotion against Martin Kampmann was a split decision which could have gone either way. That poor performance was said to be due to Shields’ cut to welterweight, which is now beginning to seem like a poor excuse.

There is no doubt that Shields is a highly talented fighter, and one of the best grapplers in MMA. His fight against GSP, where the Canadian was able to shut down Shields’ grappling with impeccable striking, was, nevertheless, the toughest fight the incumbent champion has had for years.

Shields has looked a genuine title contender at many points in his career, and has demonstrated many times that he has what it takes to hang with the big boys. But his middleweight debut in the UFC last weekend hardly establishes him as anything close to that.

The aftermath of that one fight may be too soon to write him off as a contender completely. We would have to see how he performs against a top middleweight first—such as Michael Bisping, Alan Belcher or even Chris Weidman.

But at 33, the time needed for him to string together enough wins to get him a title shot is running out, and his victory over Herman hardly fills us with confidence that he has what it takes.

 

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