UFC 150 Henderson vs. Edgar II

UFC 150 Henderson vs. Edgar II UFC 150 was headlined by the sixth consecutive lightweight title match to feature Frankie Edgar - a run that equals BJ Penn’s dominance of the title situation from 2008 to 2010. Of course, “dominance” is not a word one associates with Edgar - “by a whisker” seems more apt. Edgar first won the lightweight title in April 2010 on the back of a close, controversial decision against Penn in Abu Dhabi, and over two years later his run at the top of the division ended in similar circumstances.

Having successfully lobbied for an instant re-match after losing to Benson Henderson in February, Edgar again went five rounds with the penultimate WEC champion. However, whereas few agreed with his belief that he should have left Japan as the title-holder, many more shared his bewilderment when Henderson once again got the benefit of the judges’ decision.

This was in part because the fight was so closely-contested that it was near-impossible to mount a clinching argument for either man. While Henderson would clearly win the first round and Edgar the second, the final three rounds really could be scored to either fighter. There was never a moment that allowed one of the fighters to really impose themselves on their opponent, and stamp their authority on the fight. Instead, when the final horn sounded, nobody truly knew who won, and therefore nobody could criticise the decision of two of the three judges to give the fight to Henderson, even if most had it for Edgar.

This put the UFC in the illogical position of denying Edgar an instant re-match following a fight most people thought he won, after giving him one following a fight most accepted he had been clearly defeated in. The contortions involved in maintaining this stance were clear when Dana White refused to say whom he had scored the fight for. However, the desire to move to fresh contests is understandable, with the division being the UFC's deepest in terms of top talent. Nate Diaz is up next for Henderson, and will mount a considerable challenge.

Results Nik Lentz def. Eiji Mitsuoka (TKO [punches] / R1 / 3:45) • Chico Campus def. Dustin Pague (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) • Erik Perez def. Ken Stone (TKO [punches] / R1 / 0:17) • Michael Kulper def. Jared Hamman (TKO [punches] / R2 / 2:16) • Dennis Bermudez def. Tommy Hayden (Submission [standing guillotine] / R1 / 4:43) • Max Holloway def. Justin Lawrence (TKO [punches] / R2 / 4:49) • Yushin Okami def. Buddy Roberts (TKO [punches] / R2 / 3:05) • Jake Shields def. Ed Herman (Decision [unanimous] / R3 / 5:00) • Donald Cerrone def. Melvin Guillard (Knockout [head kick and punch] / R1 / 1:16) • Benson Henderson def. Frankie Edgar (Decision [split] / R5 / 5:00)