What Should Happen Next For Henderson

After Ben Henderson's title loss to new UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis we are left with the question of who Benson Henderson should fight next.  I think that there a few fights that make sense for the UFC to put together.

I think that a fight with current #4 ranked UFC Lightweight Josh Thomson would be the fight that I want to see the most.  Josh Thomson is coming off of a knockout finish over Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7 in April.  Josh Thomson has been considered an elite lightweight fighter for many years.  In his UFC return he proved that the bright lights of the UFC place no extra pressure on the MMA vet.  I think that this match up is one that makes the most sense.  Thomson is on his way to the top and knocking on the door of his title shot and a win over Henderson would be a good way to secure a shot.

On the inverse it is also a beneficial match for Henderson as well.  Henderson has demolished most of the UFC's top lightweights upon his entrance into the UFC.  Now that Strikforce has been absorbed  by the UFC there are more options out there for Henderson to face.  If Henderson could defeat Thomson he could cement his elite status by defeating a very respected MMA vet who still has a lot of fight left.  Josh Thomson has many victories in Strikeforce and has challenged for the Strikforce title on three occasions.  Josh Thomson could arguably be considered the second best Lightweight fighter to come out of Strikeforce, following Gilbert Melendez.  If Henderson wins it means that he can still beat the UFC's best-of-the-best in the 155lb weight class.

Another option is the possibility of a Henderson-Cerrone III.  There's nothing that fans love more than a good trilogy.  Both men are coming off a defeat within the last two weeks and need a win.  Like Thomson, Cerrone has been a long time contender in the Zuffa organization.  Donald Cerrone has fought for the WEC Lightweight Championship on three occasions.  His first title fight was with Jamie Varner and his next two were with Benson Henderson.  Cerrone is a one of the UFC's best lighweights and a great match up for Henderson to produce a war.

In October at UFC 166, the king of the Strikforce Lightweight Division, Gilbert Melendez, will be facing the original Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez.  If Ben Henderson were to face the winner of the Melendez-Sanchez it provides UFC fans with two beautiful options: a rematch that allows Gilbert Melendez to avenge his split decision loss to Henderson earlier this year or a fresh match between two of the UFC's biggest stars whose paths have yet to cross.

Other options: Rafael dos Anjos, Gleison Tibau, Gray Maynard and BJ Penn if he chooses to pursuit his fight career again.

Anthony Pettis Still Wants Aldo

New UFC Lightweight champion, and recent Pound-for-pound entry, Anthony Pettis announced after his fight that he is still interested in fighting UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. It makes one wonder if we still want to see that fight now that he has earned a UFC title on his own weight class. The fight would still be a good fight but I think that now is not the time.

With TJ Grant still waiting in the wings, I think that it is safe to say that Pettis needs tp face TJ Grant next and pursue more fights in his primary weight class first before pursuing any endeavors eleswhere.  I dont beleive that fight between he and Aldo would make any sense.  When he was title-less challenger moving down to featherwieght it made sense even though he was jumping the line. Now that he has the belt he must cement his status as the UFC Lightweight Champion before the fight becomes a super fight or even makes sense.

After winning the WEC title and then losing his UFC debut in the following match, his title reign only counts if he can follow up with a successful title defense. Without that title defense, his UFC belt will mean as much as his WEC title--nothing. Both Aldo and Pettis have title defenses that need to be made. Aldo vs Lamas or Swanson and Pettis vs Grant. If Aldo were to finally move up to 155 lbs that fight for Pettis' title would be priceless after a few title defenses out of Pettis.

UFC 164 Results

Last night was definitely a night of thrills that truly entertained. From the the prelims to the main event there was not a single dull moment. Lots of stars rose to the occassion at UFC 164 which was headlined by UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson taking on charismatic challenger Anthony Pettis. 

The main card was kicked off with a phenomenal featherweight fight between two of the sport's youngest rising stars and Top 10 contenders. In a fight in which Erik Koch was the favorite over Dustin Poirier, Poirier came out into that fight showing a very skilled grappling game to go along with his impressive standup striking skills. Early in the fight Koch snapped in a tight triangle that looked like it would quickly end the fight but Poirier endured and was one step ahead of Koch for the remainder of the fight. Poirier earned a much deserved unanimous decision. 

 The next fight featured the heavyweight return of Branden Vera in a tough match with longtime MMA fan favorite."Big" Ben Rothwell. Vera was relatively large in his fight last night opposed to his recent fights at 205. Vera did a good job at staying on the outside and throwing kicks from the outside and avoiding damage. Vera was able to land clean shots for the entire first two rounds. In the third round, Rothwell came into the third round knowing that he needed to go for broke and so...he did. "Big Ben" came out like a hyped up wildman out for revenge. Rothwell swung to the fences and put Vera on the mat to earn the tko victory. 

 Chad Mendes faced off with Clay Guida in another exciting Featherweight fight that was a long time coming. After injuries.had.postponed this fight for months, this fight finally happened. Clay Guida fought in his usual style of dancing around to throw off his opponent. For the most part it seemed to be working but Mendes still managed to put off some great shots on Guida. The fight was stopped in the third round when Chad put together a series of strikes that were able to stun Guida and stop him by strikes for the first time in his career in the third round.

Frank Mir and Josh Barnett were the co-mainevent fight of the evening. Frank Mir showed up in the best shape that he appeared to be in in years. Frank Mir and Barnett clinched early in the fight with Barnett getting Mir backed into the cage with Barnett controlling Mir while they were both striking in tight quarters. Barnett was definitely getting the better of the exchanges in the clinch. Within two minutes of the fight, Barnett landed a clean knee to the face that put Mir into enough trouble for the referee to stop the match.

Finally the event that we all were looking to see was the Pettis vs. Henderson. Henderson came out strong controlling Pettis against the cage using a unique calf kick to help stifle Pettis' offense. Pettis was able to break away from the cage and attack Henderson with a series of kicks to the body. Henderson took Pettis to the ground which proved to be a mistake when Pettis was able to catch Henderson in an armbar which forced Benson Henderson to verbally submit. Henderson admitted to his arm snapping during the fight. Anthony Pettis became the new UFC Lightweight Champion.

Anthony Pettis def. Benson Henderson via verbal submission (armbar) - Round 1, 4:31

Josh Barnett def. Frank Mir via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:56

Chad Mendes def. Clay Guida TKO (punches) - Round 3, 0:30

Ben Rothwell def. Brandon Vera via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 1:54

Dustin Poirier def. Erik Koch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

Gleison Tibau def. Jamie Varner via split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)

Tim Elliott def. Louis Gaudinot via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Hyun Gyu Lim def. Pascal Krauss via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:58

Chico Camus def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Soa Palelei def. Nikita Krylov via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 1:34

Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 0:57

UFC Champion and Underdog

Benson Henderson (19-2), is the UFC's current and defending Champion this evening in his title fight with Anthony Pettis this evening.

Benson Henderson has been fighting under the Zuffa Brand since his WEC debut against Anthony Njokuani, in January 2009 in which he won by guillotine in the second round. Since then he has racked up a total of 12 combined victories in the UFC and WEC. He has defeated the likes of Jamie Varner, Donald Cerrone (twice), Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, Clay Guida, Frankie Edgar (twice), Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. Ben Henderson's only loss since his WEC debut was in his final WEC bout with Anthony Pettis. It was a closely contested battle in which Anthony Pettis pulled his now famous Showtime Kick out of his bag of tricks to steal the fifth round and entire fight to become the WEC Lightweight Champion back in December 2010.

Anthony Pettis made his debut in the WEC in June 2009 against Mike Campbell in which he secured his victory with a triangle choke in the first round. Pettis has 8 victories under his belt under the Zuffa label. He has defeated current Champion Benson Henderson, Jeremy Stephens, Joe Lauzon, and most recently Donald Cerrone. He has acquired only two losses in the UFC/WEC to Bart Palaszewski and Clay Guida.

Since the both men have joined the UFC, Benson Henderson has not lost a single fight and has managed to capture the UFC's Lightweight title and defend it successfully three times. Even though Henderson has the better recordnand less blemishes under Zuffa, many sources are giving the edge to Pettis. Both men have grown since their last rendezvous in the WEC and Henderaon has continued to prove to the judges that he can control and win a fight. Pettis has still continued to grow in his creativity in strikes as well as his finishing ability.

I think that Pettis will be flahier this time around,  but I dont think that flashy approach guarentees success.  I think it will be another close fight in which I still see Benson Henderson coming out on top this time as he has against all of his UFC opponents since his arrival.