On Saturday, UFC 150 in Denver was headlined by the big lightweight title rematch between reigning champion Ben Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar. In what was likely the fight of the night, Henderson retained his title in an extremely close fight, via split decision.
The first round was almost entirely stand-up fighting, as Henderson kept switching up his stance and utilizing leg kicks to try to wear Edgar down. Edgar scored a takedown in the final minute, but Henderson sank in a guillotine choke from his back. Edgar survived until the end of the round, however.
Henderson stuck to his game plan in the second round, starting with standup and leg kicks. Edgar landed a big right hand that knocked Henderson down midway through the round and was able to control on the ground for a bit, but Henderson did not look too hurt and was able to make it back to his feet eventually. The fight was likely 19-19 at this point.
The third round was even more evenly matched, with both men landing significant shots and both men pushing the pace, with neither gaining a decisive edge.
The fourth round was also an extremely close one. Although Edgar scored another big knockdown and landed huge punches, Henderson answered back with significant shots of his own. Edgar may very well have won the round and the champion Henderson knew he was in danger of losing the fight if he did not demonstrably take the final round and that he may very well need to finish the challenger.
Round 5 saw Henderson looking much more tentative than in early rounds and Edgar scored time and again on counters and breaks during a full round of standup. Edgar may very well have won the fight with big shots in the final round. UFC trackers showed that Henderson landed more kicks and more significant strikes than Edgar.
The bout was left in the hands of the judges and was one of the closer fights to score in recent memory. The official decision awarded the fight to Henderson via split decision on scores of 46-49, 48-47, 48-47.
Main Card
Ben Henderson (17-2) def. Frankie Edgar (14-3-1) [LW Title] via split decision
Donald Cerrone (19-4, 1 NC) def. Melvin Guillard (30-11-2, 1 NC) via TKO (punch) in 1:16 of Round 1
Jake Shields (28-6-1) def. Ed Herman (20-9) via unanimous decision
Yushin Okami (27-7) def. Buddy Roberts (12-3) via TKO (punches) in 3:05 of Round 2
Max Holloway (6-1) def. Justin Lawrence (4-1) via TKO (punches) in 4:49 of Round 2
Preliminary Card
Dennis Bermudez (9-3) def. Tom Hayden (8-2) via Submission (standing guillotine choke) in 4:43 of Round 1
Michael Kuiper (12-1) def. Jared Hamman (13-5) via TKO (punches) in 2:16 of Round 2
Erik Perez (12-4) def. Ken Stone (11-4) via TKO (punches) in 0:17 of Round 1
Chico Camus (12-3) def. Dustin Pague (11-7) via unanimous decision
Facebook card:
Nik Lentz (22-5-2, 1 NC) def. Eiji Mitsuoka (18-9-2) via TKO (punches) in 3:45 of Round 1
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