UFC 150 Preview: Henderson Vs. Edgar 2
DALLAS (CBSDFW) - UFC 150 takes place Saturday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver and live on PPV across the world.
Benson Henderson (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will put his lightweight title on the line against former champion Frankie Edgar (14-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) in a rematch of a possible Fight of the Year candidate at UFC 144 in Japan.
The Champion
Current UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson has really taken advantage of his move from the WEC to the UFC.
His last fight in WEC brought fans one of the more memorable moments in the history of MMA when Anthony Pettis jumped off of the cage and dropped Henderson with a beautiful right head-kick that earned Pettis the decision and gave Henderson his first loss in 10 fights. Since that moment Henderson has become the most dominant Lightweight in the UFC. He has torn through very tough competition including Top 10 Lightweights Jim Miller, Clay Guida and now former champion Frankie Edgar all buy unanimous decision.
Henderson's size, athleticism and endurance are his biggest assets inside the octagon. He is able to push a pace that even Edgar, Guida and Miller couldn't match. In their first matchup Henderson was able to throw as many leg kicks as he wanted with little to no fear that Edgar would be able to take him down.
The Champion has openly stated that he wants to have more consecutive title defenses that Middleweight champ Anderson Silva who has defended his belt a record 13 times.
Henderson looks to get his streak underway title defense #1 on Saturday night
The Challenger
Frankie Edgar may have the most heart that I have ever seen in the Octagon. If you had the chance to see any of his last 3 fights you probably agree with that thought.
The New Jersey native has taken himself from a title contending after-thought when he was first matched up with then Champion BJ Penn at UFC 112 to one of the most entertaining fighters the UFC has to offer.
His trilogy with Gray Maynard is right up there in terms of entertainment with the biggest rivalries in UFC history. Edgar had been undefeated in seven straight UFC bouts (including 4 title fights) before losing his title via unanimous decision to Henderson.
There was a lot of talk after that fight about a possible move down to 145lbs for Edgar which he instantly squashed while pursuing a rematch with Henderson.
Edgar has proven himself to be the master of the rematch having never lost in any of his three previous rematches (1 with Penn and 2 with Maynard) inside the octagon. His heart wasn't enough in the first fight as he was facing the only fighter in the division that has been able to match his pace for five rounds.
Edgar is going to need a well thought out game plan to outpoint Henderson on Saturday.
Prediction
The difference maker in their first fight was Henderson's massive size advantage over Edgar. Henderson seems to be as big as any lightweight that we have seen.
Edgar is known for fighting at his natural weight of 155lbs which has been very beneficial in conditioning for the former champion. The issue for Edgar is that Henderson is able to cut down to 155 and pick his weight back up without losing any of his cardio.
Henderson can match Edgars pace for five rounds while still being the much stronger fighter due to his natural size advantage. There is very little that Henderson did wrong in their first fight. He was aggressive throughout the fight and he was able to throw a mixed variety of kicks and punches at the former champion with no fear of Edgar being able to get him to the ground.
Edgar has to come up with a game plan that involves constant in and out striking. He is a very accomplished grappler but the size disadvantage is too much for Edgar to go into the fight planning on winning by getting it to the mat.
Henderson is just too much at his size for Edgar to overcome in my eyes. Benson Henderson will become the first fighter to finish Edgar and he will do so by 3rd RD TKO. Then we can see what most MMA fans think should happen and that is a Frankie Edgar move down to 145lbs.
Current Top 10UFC Lightweight's
1-Benson Henderson (16-2)
2-Frankie Edgar (14-2-1)
3-Nate Diaz (16-7)
4-Gray Maynard (11-1-1, 1NC)
5-Anthony Pettis (15-2)
6-Jim Miller (21-4)
7-Clay Guida (29-13)
8-Donald Cerrone (18-4, 1NC)
9-Joe Lauzon (22-7)
10- Melvin Guillard (30-10)
Check out the UFC 150 Post Fight Show with myself and Richard Hunter on 105.3 THE FAN as soon as the Main Event ends Saturday night! You can follow me on twitter @mmamiked and you can follow Richard @Richardhunter
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