Ben There, Done That: Ben "Smooth" Henderson

Ben "Smooth" Henderson, WEC lightweight champion, is set to defend the belt a third time versus Anthony Pettis this December 16th, 2010, in Glendale, Arizona – Henderson's stomping grounds. That's "third time" if you consider the jump from interim to undisputed a successful defence of the belt. But it was against Jamie Varner, the former champion, that Henderson won a victory at WEC 46 to become the undisputed king of the division, while the fight for the interim belt was against the most deserving contender – Donald Cerrone – who went on to lose the rematch at WEC 48. Varner is 1-0-1 since losing to Henderson, while Henderson, in their second fight, cruised to the exact same finish against Cerrone that he used to submit Varner – a guillotine choke. Chokes, clearly, are Henderson's favorite tool of the trade. Half of Henderson's wins have come via guillotine or rear naked choke for a total of six.

The winner faces the victor of the upcoming UFC 125 main card event, Gray Maynard versus UFC Lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. This mini-lightweight tournament will decide the true lightweight champion of the UFC.

So, in a sense, the fight between Pettis and Henderson is, by default, both a short-lived WEC championship, and round one of a two-round tournament for the true UFC championship. It may seem a heady test for a young fighter who's been in the game for less than five years.

But clearly, Henderson is no stranger to the limelight. He debuted in the WEC with a second round choke of Anthony Njoukani, and promptly finished Shane Roller in less than two minutes less than four months later at WEC 40. It was nothing but title fights after that. Henderson's interim title fight against Donald Cerrone at WEC 43 was an Olympian-calibre display of grappling and aerobic fitness. The fight went five rounds, with Henderson getting the nod for maintaining pressure in top control whilst escaping innumerable submission attempts by the wily Cerrone in one of the best fights of the year.

Henderson is that quintessential American MMA fighter: a wrestler from high school to college who transitioned into submission grappling, with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do on the side. Tae Kwon Do may not seem a natural hobby for your average American grappler, but Henderson's mom is Korean, and she enrolled him in Tae Kwon Do at a young age. He went on to achieve a black belt. That, cardio, stellar grappling and a zen-like focus in the Octagon have served the rapidly rising MMA star well.

Look for Henderson to utilize ranging kicks against Anthony Pettis (who is also a Tae Kwon Do black belt), and to clinch, take down and pound Pettis in top control to frustrate and tire him out.

With the recently introduced $100,000 bonuses implemented by the UFC, and the larger purses, there is no shortage of incentive for Henderson to put on a cardio clinic alongside a submission seminar to catapult him into the headlines for the fight for the combined UFC lightweight championship belt.

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By Roy Kok
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer