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UFC: The Next 5 Months Are Crucial for the Promotion

It hasn’t been a memorable couple of years for the UFC.
Since the Fox Era started and there’s been a card every other week, pay-per-view numbers have levelled off, quality of shows has often suffered, injuries have been more frequent and fans have grow…

It hasn’t been a memorable couple of years for the UFC.

Since the Fox Era started and there’s been a card every other week, pay-per-view numbers have levelled off, quality of shows has often suffered, injuries have been more frequent and fans have grown frustrated with the product.

Sure, if you bring it up with Dana White you’re going to be the nail to his verbal hammer pretty quick. It’s real talk but not the type he’s interested in hearing when his whole livelihood is trying to sell fight cards.

But the end of 2013 might very well stand as the turning point for the promotion, the end of a dark age that started well over a year ago.

Coming off a Fox main event that many are lauding as a breakthrough for flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and the Chris Weidman upset only a few weeks earlier, the promotion is primed to ride some good vibes through the end of the year.

UFC 163 happens this weekend and pits Jose Aldo against Chan Sung Jung, a fighter tailor made to make Aldo look good with his plodding style and willingness to absorb punishment.

UFC 164 comes less than a month later, headlined by Benson Henderson defending against nemesis Anthony Pettis just up the road from Pettis‘ house. The last time they met was for the WEC lightweight title, and it ended with this little bad boy. Yes, the rematch should be good.

From there, events headlined by Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez and Georges St-Pierre see the promotion roll through a stretch that hasn’t existed for them on paper since 2011.

Those are three big draws defending their title on consecutive cards, something the UFC just cannot offer anymore with its product so severely watered down. Velasquez and St-Pierre in particular could do big numbers, as Velasquez completes his trilogy with Junior dos Santos on a deep card, and GSP’s fight will headline the promotion’s 20th Anniversary show.

After all that, the year will end with Weidman defending his recently poached middleweight title against Anderson Silva in the rematch to end all rematches. Whether or not it truly is the biggest rematch in UFC history (it’s not) is irrelevant, because it’s the biggest one of the year, and it will be supported by the star power of Ronda Rousey in her own rematch with Miesha Tate. If there’s ever going to be a 1,000,000-buy pay-per-view again for the UFC, that one could be it.

And all of this is to say nothing of the Fox influence on things.

The UFC will be on the big network one more time before the calendar changes and will also be on Fox Sports 1 several times. Names like Sonnen, Shogun, Overeem, Condit, Kampmann, Cerrone, Teixeira, and Bader have all been booked for those bi-weekly events already, so it looks like a pretty consistent level of talent will be showcased there.

The bottom line is that the UFC has a chance to get on a run here, a run the likes of which fans haven’t seen in a very long time. People want to see proven names in big fights, and that’s basically all that you’ll see on the UFC calendar for the next five months.

It’s been too long since that’s been the case, and now that it finally is again, it’s clear how big it could be for them.

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Dana White Addresses UFC 164 Conspiracy Theories About Pettis and Grant

When T.J. Grant pulled out of UFC 164’s main event with a concussion and was replaced by Anthony Pettis, the conspiracy theorists came out in full force. Actually, to hear UFC president Dana White tell it, those conspiracy theories started even before Grant was forced form the August 31 fight card, they began when Anthony Pettis was forced from UFC 163’s main event.

Speaking to the media on Saturday following UFC on Fox 8, White said that as soon as Pettis was forced from the August 3 card with a knee injury, the talk of a conspiracy to get Grant off the UFC 164 fight card and replace him with Pettis began. White said: “It was how long before Zuffa f**ks T.J. Grant, and then T.J. Grant gets hurt, he’s out.”

There are a few reasons that these conspiracies took hold. Firstly, UFC 164 is booked for Pettis’ hometown of Milwaukee. Secondly, Grant was booked to face UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, the man who holds the title that Pettis covets. Oh, and the last person to beat Henderson? Yeah, that was Pettis.

You may remember that fight, and if you don’t, just Google “Showtime Kick” and you’re sure to hit on a video of one of the most memorable moments in MMA history.

Anyway, White dismissed those conspiracies on Saturday, saying: “It’s just that the way that it worked out was crazy, but finally something worked out in my favor, where guys get hurt and good fights are still made.”

How did it work out in White’s favor? He spoke about that as well: “What happened was, he (Pettis) had a small tear in his ACL or meniscus. They said it didn’t need surgery, but that it needed four weeks of physical therapy, and all that s**t happened and we got him checked out and yeah, he could take the fight.”

White said that Pettis was looked at by the UFC doctor and was given the all clear for UFC 164: “If the doctor tells me, the guys ok. If the doctor says he’s not ok, he’s not ok. Our guy, especially our guy that does all the knee, shoulder and joint stuff, he pushes it. When he says a guy can’t fight I listen to what he says.”

White’s words probably won’t put all the conspiracy theories to rest, but it should, at the very least, quiet some of the talk that the promotion shafted Grant out of his title shot.

*All quotes obtained first hand by Bleacher Report.

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UFC 164: How Benson Henderson Can Remain Champion

When WEC went out in 2010, it went out in style.
A five-round war between two up-and-coming lightweights that was back and forth for the duration, capped off by the most insane piece of offense MMA had ever seen and a title changing hands as a result.
…

When WEC went out in 2010, it went out in style.

A five-round war between two up-and-coming lightweights that was back and forth for the duration, capped off by the most insane piece of offense MMA had ever seen and a title changing hands as a result.

Ah, the good ol’ days.

Those two up-and-coming lightweights? They were Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis. Henderson was the champion, Pettis the challenger, and Pettis left that night as the last best guy the WEC had on roster.

Both went on to the UFC and immediately became competitive in the 155-pound shark tank. Pettis bounced around a bit between injuries, promised title shots that became unpromised and had one particular loss to a professional Snuggie that people used to love.

Henderson quietly amassed a solid record on his way to a title shot himself, and he made good on it in a tight scrap against Frankie Edgar. He then held onto the title in an even tighter scrap with Edgar, a reasonable showing against Nate Diaz and a win over Gil Melendez in arguably the tightest fight of his reign.

Henderson hasn’t been an overly convincing champion, as there’s a real case that he lost three of his four title fights in the UFC. But he’s the champion nonetheless.

And in a few short weeks, just as in 2010, Anthony Pettis is coming for his title.

But what does Benson Henderson have to do to keep his belt? Truthfully, it’s no one thing. It’s a number of things.

The first is that he has to commit to winning the fight. Not commit to winning three rounds, or winning five rounds—commit to winning the fight. He needs to get himself into a state of mind where he’s not looking to score points and not looking to do just enough to win. He needs to stalk a convincing victory at every turn.

If he doesn’t, he runs the risk of going to the decision well once too often. A man can only ride out questionable decisions for so long before they turn on him, and given the tendency of Pettis to be aggressive, flashy and exciting in his bouts, he may be the wrong guy to attempt to topple with three 48-47s.

In committing to winning the fight, there’s obviously a strategy to be implemented. Unpopular opinion alert: if you’re Benson Henderson, you better believe it’s taking the fight to the ground.

Sure, Henderson is a decent striker in his own right. He’s reasonably flashy, kicks like a mule and is continually growing in his arsenal and approach. But he doesn’t knock people out.

You know who does? Anthony Pettis.

Pettis is a little better than the champ across the board when standing, and he has the X-factor of being able to finish an opponent with one blow.

Henderson can, however, win a fight on the ground. He can also get it there with his wrestling, and Pettis isn’t afraid of fighting from guard, so he may be okay with being put there.

Aggressive ground and pound and pushing for submissions himself is the most sensible route to victory, and it’s something Henderson can easily do given his criminally underrated jiu-jitsu game and endless gas tank.

The final step for the champion is not to get caught up in the revenge angle. It’s not likely that he will, given his cool head under fire, but if there was ever something to seek revenge for, it’s being the face getting kicked in history’s greatest highlight (save for that time Mariner Moose broke his leg hitting the wall in Seattle, perhaps).

Henderson can’t waste time and energy looking for a highlight to add to his own reel at the expense of Pettis, because he’ll wake up with a flashlight in his face if he does.

Just be aggressive, push for takedowns and be unrelenting with strikes and submission attempts once the fight is there. If Benson Henderson does that, he’ll head to his after-party carrying a big gold belt and wondering who his next challenger is.

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UFC 164: Anthony Pettis Ready for ‘Showtime’ in Milwaukee

The UFC lightweight title has been in the sights of Anthony Pettis for quite some time, and the chance to make his dream a reality is rapidly approaching. It hasn’t been an easy journey by any means, but the 26-year-old Duke Roufus-trained fighter has …

The opportunity to do so will come in an ideal setting. Pettis is a lifelong Milwaukee native, and with the Octagon rolling through his hometown for UFC 164, the former WEC lightweight title holder will step onto the sport’s biggest stage and attempt to make good on his long-awaited title effort.

The situation comes as a fitting turn for the talented young fighter. Much like the hard scrabble, blue-collar city he represents, the Roufusport fighter has endured a series of setbacks and unfortunate scenarios on path to become a UFC champion. Multiple title shots have fallen by the wayside due to various circumstances both unrelated and directly tied to what Pettis has been able to do inside the cage.

Nevertheless, the lightweight striking phenom has remained at the top of the fight game and will square off with champion Benson Henderson on August 31 at UFC 164.

The main event title tilt has the potential to be a defining moment in Pettis‘ young career, and with his city behind him, “Showtime” is ready to to make the most of the moment.

“This is the very definition of all my dreams coming true,” Pettis told Bleacher Report. “I’ve worked so hard to get where I’m at and it is finally here. I’m not going to let myself down. I’m not going to let my fans down and I’m not going to let my city down. This is what I’ve worked so hard for.”

“The city of Milwaukee really gets behind their athletes,” he added about competing in his hometown. “The Brewers, Bucks, Packers and the athletes from my city get a lot of support. I’m excited to actually get to put on for my city, in the Bradley Center, in my hometown, fighting for a title. It’s going to be insane. Plus with the Harley Davidson celebration going on it is going to be a really fun week.”

While the opportunity to compete for the lightweight crown came as a high point for Pettis, it was preceded by an astounding low. The unpredictable striker was originally slated to face pound-for-pound Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 163, but a knee injury suffered during a training session put the ice on his 145-pound title bid.

Following the injury, Pettis appeared to be out of the championship picture once again, but T.J. Grant’s concussion and subsequent withdraw from his bout with “Bendo” created the perfect scenario for Pettis to jump directly back into the mix.

“My first thought was…again?” Pettis recalled. “This is really going to happen to me again? A small knee injury and this is going to to take me out of a title shot. But after the way it all played out, I’m positive about the whole situation. Everything happens for a reason and maybe I just wasn’t meant to fight in Brazil for the 145-pound title. Maybe Milwaukee was my place to fight.”

“I would have loved to not got hurt and the knee injury would’ve been nice not to have, but the way it worked out, it still worked out good. I still got my title shot and I got two title shots in one month. That’s unheard of, man.”

With the bout between Pettis and Henderson official, a rematch three years in the making is finally going to materialize. The two men originally locked up at WEC 53 back in 2010, with Pettis edging out Henderson to earn the WEC lightweight title.

Shortly after the bout, the WEC merged into the UFC fold, and both men set about their respective courses to reach the top of the division. Pettis‘ immediate title shot was put on hold due to the congestion created by the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard trilogy, then taken off the table when he was upset by Clay Guida in his Octagon debut.

As for Henderson, the loss to Pettis sparked the most impressive run of his career as the 29-year-old MMA Lab product went on to win seven consecutive fights as well as earning and defending the UFC title in the process.

In Milwaukee at UFC 164, their paths will cross once again, and while Pettis considers himself to be the best lightweight fighter in the world, on August 31 he will have the opportunity to prove that status once and for all.

In his mind, Henderson has earned the right to be called champion, but it is something he is looking to take away from the current title holder.

“[Benson] won that belt,” Pettis said. “He beat Frankie Edgar and Clay Guida and did what he had to do to get that belt. But I’m looking at it and I want his belt now. I took his WEC belt and now it’s time to get that UFC belt. I’ve always felt I’m the best lightweight in the world and now it’s my chance to prove it.”

The matchup between Pettis and Henderson has become one of the “must see” bouts in the UFC’s stacked second half run of 2013. In addition to the history and story lines the fighters share, the fight also promises to be an exciting clash of opposing styles.

Pettis is one of MMA’s most versatile and innovative strikers and has the ability to end a fight in a multitude of brutal fashions. On the other hand, Henderson has built his success on the strength of a tenacious and relentless attack, all the while sticking to the gameplan at hand.

Where other fighters panic or give in to the urgency of competing in a close contest, Henderson has lived up to his nickname and remained “Smooth” and calm in the fray. It is one of the champion’s greatest strengths, but isn’t a concern for Pettis heading into the fight.

“I don’t really care if he’s in that rhythm or not, I just know what I have to do,” Pettis said. “If he’s in his rhythm, keep doing it, because I know what I have to do. Eventually one of my kicks are going to land, then one of my punches are going to land, and little by little he is going to break.”

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

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UFC: Anthony Pettis Says No One Will ‘Clay Guida’ Him Again

The upcoming challenger for the UFC lightweight title, Anthony Pettis, doesn’t believe champion Benson Henderson’s wrestling advantage will be a difference-maker in their rematch at UFC 164 next month.
Speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, “Showtim…

Speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, “Showtime” believes that his decision loss to Clay Guida in his promotional debut two years ago isn’t a game plan others will be able to replicate against him.

“That was the fastest fight of my life,” Pettis said. “It was just one of those I didn’t get up for. All I kept thinking was, ‘I’m going to knock this guy out, and I’ll get my title shot.’ Even during the fight, I thought I’d catch him in a triangle—catch him somewhere. It just never happened…

“Uh, I think he (Henderson) saw the Guida fight and he’s saying the same thing everybody else said. Ben did what he wanted to do in the first fight, we went five rounds, we both had our moments and I got my hand raised. People say they can go in and ‘Guida’ me, but that’s not happening again.”

Since the disappointing loss to Guida, Pettis has rattled off three straight wins, including back-to-back knockouts over perennial top-10 lightweights Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone.

The Roufusport standout was originally scheduled to make his 145-pound debut against divisional champ Jose Aldo at UFC 163, which takes place four weeks prior to UFC 164.

However, Pettis withdrew from the bout citing a knee injury and seemed content to take a lightweight bout with fellow contender Josh Thomson (via MMA Fighting).

Things got interesting when T.J. Grant, who was originally scheduled to fight Henderson in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 31, withdrew from the fight after suffering a concussion (via Bloody Elbow).

Pettis was more than happy to fill in for Grant, though conspiracy theorists have been having a field day over the situation, especially since both Grant and UFC President Dana White assured the fans Pettis vs. Henderson II wouldn’t happen this summer.

Whether it’s an odd coincidence or an elaborate scheme—with Pettis and Grant arguing its definitely the former—the bottom line is that Pettis vs. Henderson II is indeed taking place next month at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Will “Bendo” be able to use his grappling advantage to outclass Pettis on the ground, a la Nate Diaz, or will Pettis prove that his loss to Guida really was a one-night only ordeal?

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.

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Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis and the Art of Letting Go

Standing in the center of the cage, Benson Henderson wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
He’d just gone five rounds with Anthony Pettis in the main event of the final World Extreme Cagefighting event. After this, he and his fellow WEC brethren would be a…

Standing in the center of the cage, Benson Henderson wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

He’d just gone five rounds with Anthony Pettis in the main event of the final World Extreme Cagefighting event. After this, he and his fellow WEC brethren would be absorbed into the UFC, a place where many said they would flounder. If you believed the Internet, Henderson, Pettis and the rest of the guys would quickly find out that they were big fish in a little pond.

But that was all in the future. Right now, the only thing that mattered was the verdict about to be handed down by three judges.

Henderson knew he’d won two rounds. He thought he was winning the final round until Pettis leaped off the cage and kicked his way into MMA immortality. That kick, he thought to himself, might have changed everything. It may have been enough to sway the judges toward Pettis.

Above all, Henderson knew it was a close fight. Even the rounds he thought he’d won were close, and he didn’t know what to expect in the moments before the decision was announced.

“It’s pretty nerve-wracking. For the most part, with all of my fights I’d felt pretty confident that I would win the decision,” Henderson told Bleacher Report. “But even when you feel confident, when you know you’re going to win, there’s still that moment where you say ‘oh, I hope they got this right. I hope they scored the right things.’ There’s still that thing in the back of your head, though.”

Unfortunately, Henderson was right: The Showtime Kick was enough to sway the judges, who awarded the fight to Pettis. He, and not Henderson, would be forever known as the final WEC lightweight champion. Pettis would also receive a promised shot at the UFC belt, though that didn’t quite work out the way he’d hoped.

To the victor goes the spoils.

Many fighters seek change after suffering such a devastating loss. They change camps, coaches or training partners. They drop down a weight class. It’s their way of reassuring themselves that the losses weren’t their fault—of telling the public that someone else was responsible.

It wasn’t their fault, and if they just switch camps, well, you’ll see the real deal the next time around.

Losing to Pettis hurt Henderson. But instead of dwelling on it, he used the experience as a way to grow.

“I was able to stay mentally strong. Of course I was sad. I was unhappy and I was upset. But it wasn’t over the top or anything. I wasn’t about to commit suicide or move to another gym. A lot of fighters will lose one fight and then move to another gym or find new coaches,” Henderson said. “I stayed at my gym, with all my same coaches and training partners. I was able to grow with it, to be a man and to move on. Everyone has experienced ups and downs in life. You do what you can do. You roll with the punches, you be a man and you go on. That’s life.”

Henderson moved on in emphatic fashion, rattling off wins over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida before dethroning Frankie Edgar to capture the UFC lightweight title. His UFC career was off to a spectacular start.

Meanwhile, Pettis floundered. He didn’t get the title shot that the UFC promised, so he decided to fight in order to stay busy. He lost to Clay Guida, which suddenly derailed the freight train that departed the station when he defeated Henderson so dramatically.

But Pettis rebounded, as great fighters often do, and after three consecutive wins and a mysterious injury to T.J. Grant, Pettis finds himself in a familiar scenario: He’ll step in the cage with Henderson on August 31 at UFC 164.

Deep thinkers will label this a moment of potential redemption for Henderson, a chance to make right what went so wrong for him three years ago. But Henderson refuses to assign more importance to this fight than any other fight.

“Do I want to see Pettis again? For sure. Do I want to get my hands on him? I cannot wait to get my hands on this guy,” Henderson said. “But do I need to fight Pettis again to cement anything, or put the final nail in a coffin or whatever analogy you want to use? Not really.

“I was able to, as a man, move on from it. It happened. It kinda sucked. It wasn’t a good moment. But guess what? I learned from it, I grew from it and I got better. I was able to be a better fighter in however many fights I’ve had since then. It’s one of those things in life. You have to man up and move on.”

Moving on from such an important loss is tough, but it’s even more difficult when the instrument of your doom is constantly referenced, replayed and salivated over. Pettis‘ Showtime Kick is a staple of UFC highlight reels. It has been used to show off the graphical prowess of the next-generation UFC video game, due next year for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Everywhere Henderson goes, the Showtime Kick is right there waiting for him, as if to say, “Hey, remember me?”

Henderson remembers. How could he forget? But he won’t allow it to become his defining narrative.

“I’m never happy when I see it. If you’re a competitor and you’re playing basketball, you’re going to get dunked on a couple of times. Jordan got crossed up by Allen Iverson when Iverson first came into the NBA. Does that take away from Jordan’s career and what he’s done? No,” he said. “It happens. He’s a champion who can say ‘I’ve got six rings. How many does he have?’

“It’s the same thing when I see the kick. It happened, but I was able to move on, to man up and move on with my life. I was able to focus on beating Frankie Edgar, then beating Frankie Edgar again and beating Nate and Gilbert.”

Later this summer, Henderson has the chance for a do-over. There’s no time machine that can take you back to correct your mistakes, he said, but you can grow as a fighter and as a human being. And through that process of growing, you become a better person.

You learn to let go.

But even if that loss to Pettis three years ago no longer eats away at him, you can still sense excitement in his voice when he talks about the chance to face his conqueror one more time.

“I was definitely excited. I got the call and they said that T.J. was hurt, or that something came up,” Henderson said with a laugh. “I was like, cool. That sounds good. I’ve been waiting awhile to get my hands on Pettis again, and I’m going to get my hands on him on August 31st.”

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