Breaking Down WEC 53: Henderson Vs. Pettis

Added on Dec 16, 2010 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Benson Henderson Vs. Anthony Pettis

WEC Lightweight Championship / Contender For The UFC Lightweight Belt.

Its not hard to wonder why the WEC chose these two athletes to be the final 2 fighters to get in the WEC cage. Henderson and Pettis seem to personify everything I will miss about the WEC when they are gone. Both are finely-tuned athletes who use their brains as well as their brawn when they step into a fight. When you add in the fact that they are both fighting in the biggest fights of their life, then you have the makings for an exciting main event.

Both Pettis and Henderson are risk takers, and thats what make this an exciting and unpredictable fight. Henderson is going to want to stay relaxed on his feet, but he is going to want to use his speed on the floor to overwhelm Pettis. Pettis will want to be more slow and calculative on the floor, but he will look to use his speed to benefit his striking and stand up ability. Pettis did a great job in his fights against Shane Roller, where he used his flashy striking to move the fight to the floor for a 3^rd round triangle choke. He will want to try and recreate this against Henderson.

Henderson is still working on developing his striking, but no one can argue with his wrestling acumen. He has the ability to close the distance as fast as anyone in the game as a sense of positional awareness that makes regaining the initiative a tough thing for opponents caught in bad spots. Henderson will need to be very careful setting up his takedowns with strikes. Make no mistake here, on paper, Pettis has the clear advantage on the feet.

Pettis needs to stay aware of the chances that Henderson leaves open. They will be few and far between, but he should look for these chances while Henderson is closing the gap. Roller was able to tag Bendo while he was coming in for takedowns, and hopefully Pettis noticed this. If he can stuff the takedown of Henderson, and stay defensive on the feet, he can avoid getting overwhelmed by Henderson on the floor. If you love scrambles, and quick submission transitions, then I think you will enjoy this fight the most. Off his back, Pettis has a good defensive guard, while Henderson is outstanding at escaping submissions and keeping the pressure on.

This is a tough fight to pick, and there are a pile of ways for each man to win this belt, but I think Henderson has a more diverse game for the UFC lightweight division. I am going to say Pettis will win this fight, and he will stop Henderson somewhere late in the third.