Johnston on MMA: Need some extra action?
Posted February 24, 2012 4:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
By Mike Johnston, sportsnet.ca
The UFC returns to Japan for the first time since 2000 and it brings with it a star-studded card. The event features nine Japanese fighters, six Pride Fighting Championship veterans and a UFC lightweight title fight, so you can bet the atmosphere will be electric.
Here are several more things you can bet on during UFC 144’s main event on Saturday.
You can bet Henderson will be Edgar’s kryptonite
Charlie Brown had Lucy holding a football, the 2008 Detroit Lions had every team they played against, and Superman had that glowing green stuff from his home planet.
Frankie Edgar has Ben Henderson.
The 30-year-old champion is used to being counted out. He is one of the smallest fighters in his division and has been a perennial underdog throughout his career. Still, he has been the UFC lightweight champion for 22 months.
Despite his impressive record, Edgar has been fortunate in his recent bouts because his opponents have had predictable, one-dimensional game plans.
At UFC 144 his luck will run out.
Fighters like Gray Maynard, BJ Penn and Sean Sherk chose to primarily box with the quicker, shiftier fighter. Maynard had some success, but ultimately Edgar never lost his belt.
By using lots of head movement and throwing plenty of feints, Edgar often makes it look like he’s doing more than he actually is. But it keeps his opponents at bay and it looks good in the eyes of the judges.
He has the ability to force his adversaries to play into his game, but that won’t work at UFC 144. The varied attack of Henderson will be the champ’s undoing.
Henderson won’t just throw punches. In fact, punching may be the weakest part of his striking game. Instead, he will mix in heavy kicks, knees and elbows, clinch work and takedowns just like he did against Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida on his road to the title.
You can bet no one will tap out or give up
Each man has knockout power but the chances someone finishes the fight cleanly on the feet is slim. Neither man has been knocked out in his career but it’s not as if their chins haven’t been tested.
Many believe Edgar is the most durable fighter in the lightweight division after withstanding a barrage of punches from Maynard that put him on queer street at UFC 125 and UFC 136. Edgar recovered enough in that first bout to force the split draw. And his Rocky-like ability to recover and definitively put a stamp on the Maynard trilogy will be reminisced about for years.
Henderson’s will and determination cannot be overlooked either. Before establishing himself as a UFC contender, Henderson was infamously known for being the victim of Anthony Pettis’ off-the-cage “Showtime Kick” at WEC 53 in December of 2010. The impact Pettis’ foot made on Henderson’s face would have knocked most fighters out, but Henderson held on and finished the fight.
Henderson was also rocked in his WEC 40 bout with Shane Roller. He was dropped by a big right hand and was trapped in a tight guillotine, but managed to escape and finished the fight by TKO 30 seconds later.
It’s this kind of display of heart that endears both main event fighters to so many fans.
In addition to the striking game, both men have quality chokes in their submission arsenals, but there is no chance either man taps out in this bout.
Both men have an uncanny ability to escape submission attempts and end up in dominant positions during scrambles.
In Edgar’s UFC debut against Tyson Griffin in February 2007 he was caught in one of the tightest kneebars you’ll see, yet he did not tap. He was trapped and simply withstood the pain until the final horn sounded and he ended up winning a decision.
Henderson’s nickname is “Smooth” but he is also referred to as “Bendo” for his ability to contort his body and escape submissions. His bout with Pettis and his epic WEC 43 tilt against Donald Cerrone were perfect displays of his resilience and grappling defence. The perfect combination of great technique and fortitude.
The 28-year-old has only been stopped once in his career, but it wasn’t because he tapped out. He was choked unconscious by Rocky Johnson in March 2007 in just his third professional fight.
You can bet that neither man will fatigue
Cardio shouldn’t be an issue at the highest level of MMA, but sometimes it is. And during a five-round title fight it is all the more integral to a fighter’s success.
Edgar has gone the distance in title fights three times, while Henderson has done it twice.
In his last four fights Edgar has been as quick and explosive in the championship round as he was in the first minute of the bouts.
Since Henderson is the much bigger man — he cuts a fair amount of weight to compete at 155 pounds, while Edgar only needs to shed a few pounds — he is more likely to fatigue, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. Even with the weight cut he goes through Henderson never significantly slowed down in his five-round scraps.
You can bet on the fight … literally
The moneyline is leaning slightly in Edgar’s favour. He is currently a -130 favourite while Henderson currently sits at even money.
If you’re a gambler and don’t know who to put your money on, here are some things to consider:
Most fighters are siding with the champ. UFC stars including Randy Couture, Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann believe Edgar will prove his doubters wrong once again.
Fellow lightweights Danny Castillo and Anthony Njokuani — who both arose from World Extreme Cagefighting — are siding with their former WEC stable mate.
Not only are WEC vets on his side, but so is a video game. And when have video games ever steered us wrong?
Check out this simulation from UFC Undisputed 3 in which Henderson has the edge over the current champ.
I was thinking…
— That if the UFC and YouTube went on an acid trip, this is what it would look like:
— The Japanese fans might be disappointed during the PPV card as I believe Yushin Okami, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Hatsu Hioki will all be defeated.
— UFC 144 is the most stacked UFC card from top to bottom in a long time.
— If I decided to compete in MMA, my debut would go something like this.
— If I purchase the March issue of Playboy (UFC Octagon girl Brittney Palmer is featured on the cover), could I write it off as a business expense?
Mike Johnston is a Digital Content Editor for sportsnet.ca and has been covering mixed martial arts since 2008. You can follow him on Twitter at @MikeyJ_MMA.
