Bendo made amends with victory in a sensational fight. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Those who chose to give up Carnival Saturday to watch UFC Fight Night 60 were not disappointed. Good fights, submissions and knockouts delighted the fans. In the main fight of the night, the former lightweight champion (up to 70 kg.) Ben henderson showed courage and strategy by moving up the welterweight division (up to 77 kg.) and finishing Brandon thatch in the fourth round in a sensational upset.
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Bendo and the turn
Ben henderson accepted the challenge at the last minute. Coming from two defeats in the lightweight division, the North American agreed to move up a category in less than 12 days to replace the injured player. Stephen Thompson and face the hard Brandon thatch to save the UFC Fight Night 60 fight program
Favorite on the betting exchanges, Thatch started the fight with everything. Taller and stronger, Brandon worked in the first half, placing Bendo against the bars and working with punch combinations. The cornered former lightweight champion tried to keep his rival at bay with front stomps.
Fighting with the support of the crowd, Thatch grew even more in the second round. In addition to good boxing combinations, he tried to hit his rival with strong high kicks. Brandon still took his rival to the ground on two occasions, but preferred to ask Bendo to get up.
Despite the rival's complete dominance in the first two rounds, the turnaround Ben henderson started in the third round. He managed to hold onto Thatch's legs and work on the takedown. More skilled, Bendo quickly reached his back and got close to the choke. But Brandon managed to hold Ben's hands and avoid the submission.
In the fourth round, Henderson started at a disadvantage as happened at the beginning of the fight. But Thatch only had to walk forward and throw a few blows and he quickly reached the fall. With Brandon already tired, the former lightweight champion changed positions until he reached his back, secured the rear naked choke and made peace with the victory.
“There are times when you have to do your best, doing things without knowing how. I wanted to silence the audience before, but now I want to hear them scream. I knew he would come very strong in the first round, and I had to not run, but move. Looks like there's a good event in Montreal coming up soon. We’ll see, but I think I’m interested in fighting there,” said Henderson after the fight, hinting that he could face Rory McDonald, again at welterweight.
Holloway scores fifth consecutive victory
In the second most important fight of the night, the featherweights Max Holloway e Cole Miller They fought a lively battle. After a balanced first round, with a slight advantage for Holloway, an accident was essential to define the winner. The moment the athletes entered the range of action to exchange punches, their heads collided and a deep cut opened on Miller's head.
After a period of interruption, Cole Miller the dispute returned, but without its best conditions. Max Holloway He took advantage of the moment, continued to impose his pace and calmly won the following stages to take the win in the unanimous decision of the judges. (29×28, 30×27, 30×27).
With victory, Max Holloway proved his good form and scored his fifth victory in the series. The result should place the current 13th in the featherweight ranking among the top 10 in the category.
Check out the UFC Fight Night 60 results below
Main Card
Ben henderson finished Brandon thatch with a rear naked choke in R4;
Max Holloway derrotou Cole Miller in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Neil Magny submitted Kiichi Kunimoto with a rear naked choke at 1m22s of R3;
Daniel Kelly defeated Patrick Walsh via unanimous decision;
Kevin Lee derrotou Michel Tractor in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Ray Borg submitted Chris Kelades with a Kimura at 2m:56s of R3
Preliminary Card
Efrain Escudero defeated Rodrigo Monster in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Chas Skelly defeated Jim Alers by TKO at 4:59 of R2;
Zack Makovsky defeated Tim Elliott in the unanimous decision of the judges;
James Moontasri submitted Cody Pfister with a rear naked choke at 1m:49s of R2.
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