Contributor: Connor Dillon
Welcome to the third 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. This fight breakdown is from WEC 43 out of San Antonio, Texas. Donald Cerrone was Jamie Varner’s foil in the WEC, constant bickering and fighting between the two led to a potential rematch for the title after Varner had won their first contest. Alas, it was not to be and Jamie was not medically cleared to fight Cerrone. Enter Ben Henderson. Hot off finishing both Anthony Njokuani and Shane Roller, two dangerous contenders in the WEC, he was given the chance at glory, provided he got through much more experienced and well-rounded Donald Cerrone.
Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone I
Round 1:
Touch gloves to start off. Cerrone throws a headkick and slips, falling on his butt. Henderson pushes forwards, trying to get Cerrone to make a mistake. Bendo pushes him against the cage and Cerrone latches onto a guillotine but Bendo keeps pressure. However Cerrone twists Bendo around, latching onto a modified Front Chancery, then slips Bendo to get him on his back. Cerrone keeps the pressure of the submission on and starts to slip into mount, but Bendo gets his legs under him and rolls to his belly, and shoots for a take down. Unfortunately Cerrone latches onto a triangle choke and is now on his back, Bendo in his triangle. That said Bendo pulls his shoulder from the submission and has Cerrone at an almost 90 degree angle to himself. Light ground and pound from both sides. Bendo is about to escape and Cerrone lets go and shoot for a takedown that Bendo defends, who grabs a guillotine on Cerrone. Bendo throws a couple knees, releases the submission and as Cerrone gets all the way up, throws a head kick that was just a tad too high to hit him solid. Light feeling out process, Cerrone throws a straight right that Bendo hops back away from. He then throws a hard leg kick that Bendo shoots for a single on. He pushes Cerrone back to the cage and changes to a double leg. He grabs his hands together and then picks Cerrone up and leans him into a takedown. Bendo sits in Cerrone’s guard and starts throwing ground and pound. Cerrone tries for an omoplata, but Bendo is too loose and Cerrone lets it go. He pushes against Bendo and gets him off, starts to back up but Bendo is on him ASAP and Cerrone can’t get away. Bendo is now in Cerrone’s butterfly, but he’s standing up and throwing to Cerrone’s head and midsection. Cerrone grabs a hand but can’t do anything. Cerrone pushes off and rolls over his shoulder but Bendo stays sticky to his back. Cerrone rolls back and goes to his guard, Bendo still in his guard. Cerrone throws a couple upkicks that hit Bendo but he walks through it and keeps throwing some ground and pound. Round ends.
Score: 10-9 Ben Henderson. He was able to defend the submission attempts, took down Cerrone, and even controlled Cerrone while he was in his guard. Also, the one submission that almost got him was the front chancery/guillotine attempt that happened in the first minute. All the others weren’t in a proper position to finish someone, let alone Bendo.
Alternatively: Cerrone’s submission attempts may have been enough to take the round, but there was only one serious attempt that occurred in the first 1-2 minutes of the round, and the majority of the round was Ben Henderson controlling and dominating Cerrone, so I’m hesitant to actually give Cerrone this round.
Round 2:
Bendo runs forward a little bit after a feeling out moment and throws a headkick that misses. Another feeling out movement. Some bouncing around on both sides. Bendo shoots into a single leg and takes Cerrone down. Cerrone pushes him off and when Bendo comes back in, Cerrone slips to the side and takes Bendo’s back. He works for a figure four body lock but can’t quite get it. Gravity takes over and Cerrone slips off the side and Bendo ends up in Cerrone’s guard. He stands up and makes it difficult for Cerrone to attempt submission. Cerrone goes for an omoplata/upkick and Bendo starts to transition to half guard. Cerrone complains about something as he’s throwing some back hands at Bendo. He gets his full guard back. Cerrone is on his side with one leg across Bendo’s back going for a kimura, then he slides up as Bendo digs deeper and gets into a prime position. Cerrone extends Bendo’s arm but Bendo steps over Cerrone’s back and Cerrone lets it go. Bendo twists around and gets back into Cerrone’s guard. Bendo stands up again and is throwing some ground and pound the Cerrone defends. Cerrone throws some upkicks but can’t hit Bendo well enough. Bendo throws more hook like punches at Cerrone. Cerrone grabs a leg almost like Lesnar-Mir but he can’t get it deep enough and goes back to his butterfly guard. Bendo keeps that pressure on and Cerrone finally gets a good angle and pushes Bendo way off him. Bendo jumps back and ends standing up in Cerrone’s guard as the round ends.
Score: 10-9 Ben Henderson (20-18 Bendo). He continued to defend the submissions, and absolutely controlled Cerrone, even from his guard. Everytime Cerrone kicked him off, Bendo was able to come back and pressure Cerrone more. He landed the more telling shots and was more aggressive from dominate positions.
Round 3:
They meet at the center. Cerrone throws a combo but Bendo backs up out of the way. Bendo throws a hard leg kick that Cerrone smiles and nods to. A couple punches from Bendo, Cerrone throws a right strike to Bendo’s body. Bendo shoots for a single off a fake punch and gets Cerrone down. Cerrone kicks off and tries to roll away but Bendo jumps back on him and Cerrone rolls back to his guard. Cerrone almost catches him in a triangle again but can’t bring his leg around and Bendo passes to side control. Cerrone rolls to his belly and Bendo puts one hook in. Cerrone rolls over his free side and gets back to his guard while Bendo gets to back into position standing over Cerrone throwing ground and pound. Cerrone kicks off and this time he’s able to stand up without Bendo getting on top of him. They stand up and there’s a momentary calm of action. Cerrone takes the center of the cage. He throws a leg kick that Bendo can’t get a single off of and they stay standing. Cerrone throws a combo that Bendo jumps back away from and he bounces off the cage some what. He circles around and shoots a single again and then switches to the double once he gets Cerrone to the cage. Bendo moves to his left and trips Cerrone to his back. Bendo throws some ground and pound but Cerrone pushes him back enough to wall walk up before Bendo gets back to him. Bendo gets a double leg on him then picks Cerrone up and takes him down. Bendo gets pushed back by Cerrone, who stands up. Bendo throws some punches that miss as Cerrone circles out. Bendo shoots for a take down that Cerrone sprawls hard on. Bendo sticks his leg around Cerrone’s and straightens out his leg. Bendo grabs his other ankle and then pushes Cerrone over. Cerrone defends, tries to stand up but Bendo hops on him and the bell rings as Bendo brings his arm up to start throwing some more ground and pound.
Score: Ben Henderson 10-9 (30-27 Bendo). He controlled the positions and held dominance over Cerrone more, but Cerrone was doing more than he had in the previous rounds. More takedowns, more aggression on the feet and on the ground. Defended the two or three submission attempts that Cerrone tried out.
Round 4:
Glove tap at the beginning of the round. Cerrone throws a lunging right straight then a leg kick. Then Cerrone shoots for a takedown. Bendo defends with a guillotine and some knees then lets go and shoots on Cerrone. This time Cerrone gets another front chancery and rolls Bendo to the ground. Cerrone ends up on top and in side control, putting pressure on his arms to choke Bendo. Bendo’s right ear is almost touching his shoulder. Bendo gives a thumbs up. Cerrone gets into the north/south position. Bendo pushes and loosens the choke some and Cerrone lets it go and Bendo rolls away. Cerrone throws a punch that hits Bendo on his way up. Bendo throws a body kick that Cerrone defends. Bendo slips and almost falls over but he’s okau. Cerrone throws a head kick that misses. Bendo shoots but Cerrone pushes down on his head and hops back, still on his feet. Bendo stands up. Cerrone throws a combo that Bendo hops back from and bounces off the cage and circles around. He shoots on Cerrone, but Cerrone defends and gets away again. Light feeling out moment. Bendo fakes a takedown and Cerrone pulls his leg up faking a knee. Bendo smiles. Cerrone throws a leg kick. Fakes a superman punch and then throws a right straight to Bendo’s body. Bendo throws a front kick that doesn’t have range. He circles out and then shoots for a single leg takedown that Cerrone defends. Cerrone stuffs the head and throws a couple uppercuts at Bendo but gets too close and Bendo shoots again and gets him against the cage. Cerrone gets an underhook and defends. He throws a beautiful knee to the body and Bendo reshoots on him. Eventually Cerrone circles out and Bendo can’t get him down. They square up and Cerrone throws a couple kicks that miss. Bendo shoots another single that Cerrone defends excellently and then he moves to his back as Cerrone throws a couple uppercuts. Cerrone is up and kicks Bendo’s legs, and they sound like they hurt. Cerrone grabs Bendo’s ankles and move them to the side and throws a body shot. Bendo rolls over and attempts another single that can’t be completed. Cerrone throws another uppercut that Bendo pushes back from and as Cerrone comes in close he grabs a single leg. Cerrone twists out of it and throws a hook. Bendo gets up and circles away. Cerrone kicks a leg out from under Bendo and he slips to the ground as the bell ends.
Score: 10-9 Cerrone (39-37 Bendo). He defended virtually all the takedowns, threw the more impressive strikes, and led the aggression standing up and on the ground. Very impressive here, much better than the first three rounds.
Round 5:
They come out and touch gloves, Cerrone looks pumped. Bendo shoots for a takedown and pushes Cerrone all the way against the cage. Cerrone has double underhooks and defends, circles away as Bendo shoots for another single. Cerrone defends and walks away before tring another hook. he throws some punches that back bendo up, who shoots on him. He defends again and throws some uppercuts, but Bendo shoots again, gets him against the cage and takes him down. Cerrone’s on his side and pushes Bendo back with his feet. Bendo slips onto his back as Cerrone stands and moves towards him. Bendo looks to play his guard game some but Cerrone grabs an ankle and looks to get an angle to throw some ground and pound. Cerrone tries to stomp him but the ref warns him against it. Cerrone walks away, motioning for Bendo to stand. The ref comes between them and stands Bendo up. Bendo throws a jab that Cerrone counters with a right that barely misses. Bendo throws a left straight to the body that Cerrone mistakes as a takedown and sprawls to his knees and pushes Bendo over. Bendo scoots back to the cage as Cerrone gets up and walk over. Cerrone grabs his ankles before getting hit with an upkick. Cerrone falls on top of Bendo who grabs a single leg. Bendo transitions to a doubl leg and pushes Cerrone, who is on his knees, against the cage. Bendo gets Cerrone on his back, but Cerrone grabs his arm and starts an omoplata. Bendo defends but Cerrone regains full guard and throws his legs up and grabs an armbar. Bendo continues to defend but Cerrone goes for an omoplata again that look painful. Bendo steps over into the opposite side and gets his arm let go. Bendo gets into Cerrone’s guard and throws some punches. Cerrone pushes Bendo away and starts getting up but Bendo charges and puts him against the cage again. Cerrone has an underhook but it doesn’t help at all as Bendo takes him down again. Bendo gets his arm caught again and the round ends with Cerrone attempting a shoulder lock from his back that looks painful as all get out.
Score: 10-9 Cerrone (48-47 Bendo). He defend almost every takedown, and even once he got down he started throwing up submissions that nearly got Bendo at every turn. Standing up he threw more powerful shots and in general landed better.
Judges Scorecards: All three judges score it the same, 48-47 for Ben “Smooth” Henderson, who becomes the interim WEC Lightweight Champion.
Fighter Talk: Holy shit, did you see Bendo defending submissions like a madman? Brilliant! This is probably where his Bendo name came in to be honest. Other things I saw that I like were his transitions from singles to double legs once he got to clinching against the cage, his constant pressure, brilliant defense against Cerrone’s guard by stacking him, and the trips he brought in when he couldn’t finish a takedown. Things I didn’t like include Bendo’s ease off the gas pedal in the later rounds, his willingness to stay on his knees when he can’t complete a takedown then move to his back, and how comfortable he was with Cerrone throwing up submission attempts. There were so many that Sherdog actually gave Cerrone the first round, and gave two 10-8’s in the last round to Cerrone. If there were more judges like that, it might not end well against an opponent who can chain submissions over and over again. The last thing I’ll note here is that when he gets an opponent who can defend his takedowns but are better overall standing up, Bendo has issues, mainly look at the last two rounds and you’ll see what I mean.
(Keep checking back daily for more of the 13 Days of Bendo leading up to his fight with Anthony Pettis!)
-Connor can be reached @connorhavok.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
