Issue 100

April 2013

What might happen when champions collide at UFC on Fox 7?

Between them, Benson Henderson and UFC newcomer Gilbert Melendez have held the sport’s three most prestigious lightweight titles of the past few years. 

Reigning UFC 155lb king Henderson was previously the WEC champion, whilst Melendez (the first WEC lightweight champ way back in 2004) enters this fight as the last Strikeforce title holder.  

A Shooto veteran, who beat highly respected Japanese fighters Hiroyuki Takaya and Rumina Sato in his early 20s, Melendez (21-2) was already a respected international name when he outpointed Clay Guida to win the first of two Strikeforce titles in 2006, four months before Henderson even made his MMA debut. And after years of discussions between fans and fighters alike, he’s a fine addition to the UFC roster.

Enormous for the division, Henderson (18-2) is coming off a hugely impressive and thoroughly dominating points victory over Melendez’s close friend and teammate Nate Diaz. That performance cemented his position as the sport’s leading lightweight with Melendez’s recent form deemed by some to be patchy at best.

The Cesar Gracie standout most recently came through a questionable judges’ verdict over Josh Thomson (winning their personal trilogy 2-1), a pedestrian win over Jorge Masvidal, and suffered injuries that forced him off Strikeforce events in both September last year and this past January.  

For those reasons, and 31-year-old Melendez’s generally lower profile, Henderson will probably be a solid favorite with the odds-makers in a clash of these two elite fighters. Henderson has been much busier, fighting three times a year, every year, from 2009 to 2012.

The Arizona native has also faced and defeated generally higher caliber opponents than the seemingly injury-prone Melendez, who competed three times in 2009, once in 2010, twice in 2011 and just once again last year.

But whatever the questions surrounding the UFC newcomer, only former training partner and long-time rival Thomson, in the first fight of their epic trilogy, and talented Japanese workhorse Mitsuhiro Ishida have ever defeated the Skrap Pack favorite, both by decision. And ‘El Nino’ defeated each of them in rematches – winning a pair of decisions in Thomson’s case and TKO’ing Ishida in the third round of their return.  

Likewise, Henderson’s record is similarly impressive. Only current UFC contender Anthony Pettis, thanks largely to his decision-swinging highlight-reel ‘Showtime kick’ off the cage, and the unheralded Rocky Johnson (in one of those early career losses that dot so many MMA records) have beaten him. And ‘Smooth’ appears to have greatly surpassed Pettis since that unforgettable, last-ever WEC match in late 2010.

Henderson has only been finished once – choked out in that early fight against Johnson – and these days has the well-earned reputation of appearing unsubmittable. And given Melendez has never scored a victory with a submission hold, but is a highly regarded protégé of Cesar Gracie with superb submission defense, a tap out ending for either man looks extremely unlikely.  

For all Henderson’s ever-improving boxing and powerful leg kicks, he’s earned just two TKO wins in his six-year pro career. And whilst Melendez racked up eight stoppages in his first nine outings, he’s since been far more likely to win by decision, earning scorecard victories twice as often as inside the distance ones. Again, a TKO looks unlikely.

What does seem highly inevitable, however, is a furiously paced, crowd-pleasing, five-round fight featuring plenty of high-level striking and wrestling. Four of Melendez’s last five fights have gone the distance and Henderson’s last seven have gone to the judges.  

Both too have been the recipients of debatably generous judging. Melendez in his rubber match with Thomson and Henderson in his first match with Frankie Edgar, but between them they’ve scored well-deserved victories over Thomson, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Jorge Masvidal (all Melendez) and Donald Cerrone, Jamie Varner, Jim Miller, Guida, Edgar and Nate Diaz (all Henderson) since late 2009. 

Both men are deserving champions, but Henderson’s size, stamina, and all-round ability should see him take an action-packed decision victory.