Henderson vs. Pettis 2: What’s Next for the UFC 164 Winners

UFC 164 was headlined by one of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory as Benson Henderson looked to defend his title against the last man to defeat him, Anthony Pettis.
Henderson would be unsuccessful in his title defense as Milwaukee celebra…

UFC 164 was headlined by one of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory as Benson Henderson looked to defend his title against the last man to defeat him, Anthony Pettis.

Henderson would be unsuccessful in his title defense as Milwaukee celebrated with their hometown hero. The end came quickly as Pettis slapped on a slick armbar from the bottom and secured a verbal tap out from Henderson.

In the evening’s co-main event, two of MMA’s best grapplers faced one another as Frank Mir took on a returning Josh Barnett. Fans were eagerly anticipating some grappling scrambles, but instead saw Barnett take home a TKO victory following some excellent clinch work.

The rest of the evening’s card was also filled with great action, and UFC 164 could go down as one of the best events of 2013. Looking forward, the winners of UFC 164 will have a tough task ahead of them if they hope to top their work from Milwaukee. 

Begin Slideshow

Benson Henderson vs Anthony Pettis 2: What Went Wrong for Bendo

Last year, I wrote this type of article about UFC 148, but discussed what went wrong for Chael Sonnen. Sitting back and thinking about it, there are a surprising number of similarities between that fight and the recent rematch between Anthony Pettis an…

Last year, I wrote this type of article about UFC 148, but discussed what went wrong for Chael Sonnen. Sitting back and thinking about it, there are a surprising number of similarities between that fight and the recent rematch between Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson.

Both were highly-touted second chapters in uncharacteristically ugly rivalries. Both saw an amazing fifth-round swing in the first fight that sealed the victory to add suspense to the rematch. Both had the same guy take home the win.

While the second loss to Silva was a bit controversial due to “gamesmanship” employed by Silva during the fight (short-grabbing, attempted greasing) and was somewhat unsatisfying due to how it came about (a wacky spinning backfist by Sonnen led to an ugly KO), Henderson losing to Pettis was clear-cut. Clean. Unquestionable.

Discussing what precisely went wrong, though, is downright impossible.

Ben Henderson has, without a doubt, the greatest submission defense in the lightweight division, possibly the greatest in MMA. The loss doesn’t change this. He has consistently slipped out of submissions slapped on by far greater grapplers than Pettis.

His fight with Donald Cerrone at WEC 43 proved this on its own. Add to that the fact that he has beaten guys like Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Nate Diaz and it becomes genuinely perplexing that he could be forced to tap by a guy that was ragdolled by, of all people, now-featherweight Clay Guida.

In the post-fight interview, Henderson stated, “He got my arm, and he did a good job of twisting it the right direction. That’s a high-level armbar right there. Most guys might miss the technique behind it, but that was a pretty good armlock. My arm is killing me, dog.”

Looking back on it, though, Pettis demonstrated a solid, active guard in his loss to Guida. He also owns two largely-forgotten submission victories via triangle choke over Shane Roller and Alex Karalexis from 2010. That said, he simply doesn’t rank in the top 10 when it comes to discussing lightweight grapplers.

One can infer from this that Pettis, quietly, has been working on his grappling for years now. Injuries, though, have kept him from appearing in the Octagon with any serious frequency. When he has gotten a fight in, they have been lightning-quick knockouts.

However, once again, Henderson has been devouring fighters with more experience and skills on the ground than Pettis. There simply isn’t a way to get past that when analyzing this loss.

So what went wrong for Benson Henderson?

He lost. It’s as simple as that.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 164 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

When Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson first met at WEC 53, Pettis took Henderson’s WEC lightweight championship belt. At UFC 164, “Showtime” managed to take things a step further by ripping the UFC lightweight championship right out of Henderson’s a…

When Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson first met at WEC 53, Pettis took Henderson’s WEC lightweight championship belt. At UFC 164, “Showtime” managed to take things a step further by ripping the UFC lightweight championship right out of Henderson’s arms.

It’s tough to argue that, in spite of Henderson’s dominating stint as the 155-pound king, Pettis has his number.

It wasn’t all about the main event, though. Chad Mendes reminded the world of his mad quest to get a second shot at Jose Aldo, and Josh Barnett returned to the UFC in a dramatic fashion.

Let’s take a look at some of the more valuable lessons learned in Milwaukee, Wisonsin.

Begin Slideshow

Henderson vs. Pettis 2: Showtime’s Win in Rematch Proves He Has Bendo’s Number

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and Benson Henderson could fight five times, and though the specifics would differ, the bottom line result would probably still be the same. Pettis is officially Henderson’s kryptonite.
After defeating Henderson in 2010 primar…

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and Benson Henderson could fight five times, and though the specifics would differ, the bottom line result would probably still be the same. Pettis is officially Henderson’s kryptonite.

After defeating Henderson in 2010 primarily on the strength of the Showtime kick, Pettis proved his dominance over his rival with an expertly-executed armbar to capture the UFC lightweight title on Saturday night.

Pettis gets so much love for his dynamic striking ability.

His kick of Henderson in 2010 and back-to-back KO of the night performances against Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone may have caused some to forget how good of a grappler Showtime is.

On Saturday night, he reminded us.

Henderson usually has an edge in athleticism over his opponents. Pettis is one of the few—if not only—fighters in his weight range that is superior to Henderson in this category. Almost no fighter will enjoy an advantage over their opponent on every level. When it isn’t beneficial to engage an opponent in one area, a fighter must take a different approach.

But what happens when Plan B doesn’t increase your chances of winning?

Bendo’s tree-trunk legs would normally lead to dominance in the grappling/ground game, but Pettis‘ dexterity, technique and instincts eliminated this benefit as well.

Of all the ways to lose to Pettis, losing by submission was the most demoralizing for Henderson. It only served to show Pettis as the superior fighter in yet another aspect of the sport.

Who could blame Hendo if he’s somewhere thinking “what now” to any attempts to challenge Pettis again. Styles make fights in every combat sport and it is clear Henderson simply doesn’t match up well with Pettis.

At this point in both men’s careers, it is difficult to see a scenario that would change this. Neither man is still considered an up-and-coming talent and neither is near the end of their career.

At their best, Pettis is simply better. For a respected, proud and gifted fighter like Henderson, that is a tough pill to swallow.

 

Follow me and witness my passion for sports and video games.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Benson Henderson Next Fight: Who Should the Former Champ Face Next?

Benson Henderson is one of the most well-rounded fighters in MMA today, but every fighter has a weakness and, for Henderson, it appears that weakness is Anthony Pettis.
The former UFC lightweight champion hasn’t been able to overcome the obstacle…

Benson Henderson is one of the most well-rounded fighters in MMA today, but every fighter has a weakness and, for Henderson, it appears that weakness is Anthony Pettis.

The former UFC lightweight champion hasn’t been able to overcome the obstacle presented by Pettis, and after losing to Pettis at UFC 164, it’s pretty clear that Henderson will have to do a lot to get another title shot.

Still, all is not lost for the former champion. There are plenty of fights available for Henderson at lightweight to where he can still be in high profile fights and possibly work his way back to a future title shot.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 164 Results: Anthony Pettis and Fighters Who Dramatically Raised Their Stock

Before his win at UFC 164 on Saturday night, new UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis wasn’t even ranked in the Sherdog.com pound-for-pound top 10. After scoring his second decisive win over Benson “Smooth” Henderson—who was ranked …

Before his win at UFC 164 on Saturday night, new UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis wasn’t even ranked in the Sherdog.com pound-for-pound top 10. After scoring his second decisive win over Benson “Smooth” Henderson—who was ranked fifth—I’d say Pettis deserves a spot amongst the elite.

After injuries (Franklin McNeil of ESPN) and personal hardships (MMA Junkie), Pettis is bound to finally get the respect he deserves. The fact that he earned the victory over Henderson via submission was even more impressive.

Pettis‘ dynamic striking ability usually gets most of the attention, but he proved on Saturday night just how well-rounded his game is.

There aren’t many fighters in the world who can claim without dispute that they are superior to Showtime.

Who else boosted their stock?

 

Ben Rothwell

It seems like Big Ben is pushing 40 years old, but he’s just 31. With a good four or five years of prime performance still on the horizon for him, Rothwell‘s impressive KO of Brandon Vera on Saturday has him set up for big things.

Vera tried to employ movement to stay away from Rothwell‘s power, but to hearken back to an old Joe Louis saying, “he could run, but he couldn’t hide.” In the third round, Rothwell took advantage of his opportunity and stopped Vera with an uppercut and well-placed knee. 

Rothwell is a big, powerful man that knows how to use his weight and strength. He’ll likely be too slow to strike with the likes of Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, but he has established himself as one of the top second-tier heavyweights in the UFC.

After the win, Rothwell called out Travis Browne. That would be an interesting bout.

 

Chad Mendes

Mendes was knocked out by Jose Aldo in Jan. 2012 and it seemed his tremendous momentum had been stymied. Since the loss, Mendes has been even more impressive than he was before he fell to Aldo in Brazil. On Saturday, he became the first man to TKO/KO Clay Guida.

Mendes earned KO of the Night for his performance. It was his fourth-straight KO/TKO win and has seemingly put him in position to get another shot at the featherweight champion.

 

Follow me and witness my passion for sports and video games.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com