Ben henderson wins Frankie Edgar and is the new UFC lightweight champion
The Ultimate lightweight belt has a new owner. The North American Ben henderson fought a real battle against Frankie Edgar in the main fight of UFC 144, an event held this Saturday, in Saitama, Japan, and after 25 minutes of intense competition, he won the title via unanimous decision from the judges.
The fight started very quickly, with Edgar using traditional movement to enter and leave the range of action. Using his greater wingspan, Henderson attacked with dangerous kicks, most of the time well defended by the champion – including a flying one, when Frankie held Ben's leg and with his support leg, he left the ground to try to hit the champion's head -.
In the second round the story of the fight began to change. Henderson landed more blows and didn't let Frankie enter the range of action. In the third round, Edgar took control of the fight and took down his opponent. But even on the ground, with a spectacular pedal stroke, the challenger opened a huge cut on the champion's nose. In the final seconds, Ben still worked strikes on the ground, but saw his opponent being saved by the bell.
In the fifth round, needing to open the game, Edgar went all or nothing and put his opponent in danger. But Henderson managed to avoid the attacks and emerge with the victory in the judges' unanimous decision (48×47, 49×46, 49× 46).
“I know I hit him hard. That was the intention. I used my size as an advantage. I had eight weeks to lose weight and it's good that my opponent has all the power of my weight”, said the new champion.
SEE TOO: UFC 144: Gomi celebrates the Japanese on the preliminary card
Bader surprises and dominates Rampage
If at the weigh-in Quinton Rampage Jackson did not please the organization when he became almost three kilos overweight, this Saturday the North American disappointed the fans who were at the Saitama Super Arena to watch the Pride legend. Faced with an unexpected Ryan bader, Rampage he was completely unrecognizable and was unable to avoid his opponent's tactical play. Bader used movement to escape Jackson's dangerous boxing and took down his opponent to work on top and score points.
Jackson still managed a spectacular takedown in the second round, throwing Ryan headfirst into the octagon, but the winner of the ninth edition of TUF managed to recover and continue the duel. At the end of the fight, Bader tried to submit with an American, but the bell saved him. Rampage. In the end, the three side judges scored 30×27 for Ryan bader.
Mark Hunt knocks out Cheick Kongo
Mark Hunt He made a name for himself in fights in Japan, where he won the K-1 and started in MMA. And this Saturday, playing again in the Land of the Rising Sun, the New Zealander surprised Cheick Kongo and knocked out his opponent with powerful punches. Right at the start of the fight, Hunt knocked the Frenchman to a knockdown and recovered. However, Hunt continued attacking and again took down his opponent. This time, without wasting time, the New Zealander continued his strikes on the ground and forced the referee to end the dispute.
Japanese are defeated in the preliminary card
If on the preliminary card Takanori Gomi delighted the Japanese public, in the main fight program the hosts disappointed the fans. Yushin Okami he dominated the fight against Tim Boetsch, but after winning two rounds he ended up surprised in the third round. With a high kick, the North American knocked the Japanese off balance, who felt the blow. In the clinch, Boetsch landed several uppercuts, which took down Okami, who was knocked out.
Yoshihiro Akiyama, who was making his debut in the welterweight category, managed to avoid attempts to Jake Shields of taking the fight to the ground and even surprising the former Strikeforce champion with beautiful judo takedowns. However, he did not take advantage of his opportunities on the ground. Despite not being very forceful, Shields connected more blows and took the win with a unanimous decision from the judges.
SEE TOO: UFC 144: Gomi celebrates the Japanese on the preliminary card
Check out the complete UFC 144 results below:
Main Card
Ben henderson derrotou Frankie Edgar in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Ryan bader defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Mark Hunt defeated Cheick Kongo via TKO in R1;
Jake Shields defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama via unanimous decision;
Tim Boetsch defeated Yushin Okami by technical knockout in R3;
Hatsu Hioki defeated Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision;
Anthony Pettis derrotou Joe lauzon by knockout in R1;
Preliminary Card
Takanori Gomi defeated Eiji Mitsuoka via TKO in R2;
Vaughan Lee submitted Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto with an armbar in R1;
Riki Fukuda defeated Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision;
Chris Cariaso defeated Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision;
Issei Tamura defeated Tiequan Zhang by knockout in R2;
Comments