13 Days of Bendo: Ben Henderson vs Anthony Njokuani

Contributor: Connor Dillon

Welcome to the first installment of this series leading up to Ben “Smooth” Henderson’s title defense against Anthony Pettis at UFC 164. As a Champion for the UFC, he has been one of the most divisive amongst fans; according to many MMA fans and journalists, Ben Henderson is recorded as 1-3 in his last four championship defenses. His razor close decision wins as champion have made many fans dislike him for lack of conclusive endings, as well as beating by dubious decisions fan favorite Frankie Edgar.

My quest for understanding leads me to watch his previous ZUFFA fights, for both the WEC and the UFC, to see where he changed and became the champion he is today. The first is his welcome to the WEC by Anthony Njokuani at WEC 38 – Varner vs Cerrone in San Diego. There, he fought against a strong Muay Thai Specialist in Njokuani and finished him in Round 2 with a Guillotine Choke. What follows is my look back at this fight and my thoughts on Ben Henderson as a fighter.

Benson Henderson vs Anthony Njokuani

Round 1:

Light double pump jabs from both. Bendo throws a couple leg kicks that barely miss. The crowd starts booing. Bendo shoots for a single, Njokuani defends well but Bendo pushes for the takedown hard, which leads to a beautiful scramble into Bendo having Njokuani’s back. Njokuani reverses his position but Bendo goes for another single and gets Njokuani to the ground again. Bendo works some ground & pound, Njokuani reverses his position again, but Bendo grabs a leg, pushes for a single, and ends up clinching with him. Njokuani has back control but Bendo has a figure four grip on one of his arms, a la Kazushi Sakuraba. He tries for a trip just like Sakuraba but Njokuani defends the trip and slips into a figure four armbar. He stretches the arm but Bendo defends and the shoots into a single-leg takedown from the position, reversing the the roles. Bendo slips on a head kick from near clinching distance and then tries for a takedown that Njokuani defends well. Njokuani walks into Bendo’s butterfly guard, but then gives him a leg to work on, nearly getting heel hooked and then ankle locked. Njokuani defends well. They roll out of it  and stand up, but Bendo slips into back control and then double under body lock. He trips Njokuani and Bendo stays into it with pressure. Njokuani is standing up, but Bendo takes back control and shoots for a single again after a minor clinch striking exchange.  Njokuani is defending well trying to wall walk to get back up. He does and there are a few more light clinching exchanges, before Bendo pushes for a double leg that turns into a body lock slam.  Another scramble as Njokuani is defending, but Bendo keeps the pressure on. Njokuani turns it into a minor scramble there and Bendo moves into a single that Njokuani defends excellently until Bendo just pushes him forward some and uses a knee pick with his spare hand and Njokuani topples over. The round ends with Bendo doing some light GNP from Njokuani’s butterfly guard. Bendo 10-9, more aggression, better positions, more takedowns and dominate control, even during scrambles. He attempted to finish the fight more with several submission attempts, and kept Njokuani off his game this entire round.

Round 2

Couple jabs thrown out from both sides. Njokuani throws some strikes which ends with a combo that ends with a head kick that extends a little too far, giving Bendo the cue to shoot for a takedown, which causes Njokuani to slip as he tries to defend. Bendo goes for the single while Njokuani sprawls. Bendo is relentless with his single leg though and takes him down. Bendo throws some elbows from side control and Njokuani tries to reverse the position with a takedown but Bendo quickly slips his arm under Njokuani’s neck and as Njokuani completes the reversal, Bendo locks up the Guillotine choke, which requires an insta-tap from Njokuani. :42 seconds into Round 2 Ben Henderson wins his WEC and ZUFFA debut.

Fighter Thoughts: Ben Henderson looked very, very relentless. There were some moments where it looked like creativity or maybe aggression pushed him into doing something like throw a head kick when he didn’t have solid footing. Something else I noticed was how close Bendo kept his head to Njokuani’s body, like he kept it very close which is unusual and I don’t see from many fighters. Otherwise, I believe the best things he showed in this fight were his relentless pace and strong adherence to his game plan. The worst thing I saw in this fight was Bendo’s willingness to be reversed and scramble regardless of the danger it put him in. As you’ll see, this aggression and readiness to be put in danger turns into one of his best and worst facets.

Keep checking back daily for more of the 13 Days of Bendo!

-Connor can be reached @connorhavok.