Contributor: Connor Dillon
Welcome to the ninth installment of this series leading up to Ben “Smooth” Henderson’s title defense and a rematch 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. After his steamrolling of Jim Miller, Ben Henderson faced the energizer bunny himself on the first UFC on FOX card in Anaheim, California. Clay Guida, his opponent that night, was a main stay of the UFC’s Lightweight division. Always regarded as a fun fighter to watch, many never considered Clay Guida as a high level contender, mostly they believed him to be a Top-15 gatekeeper. However, the streak he had going into the fight included Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi, and the last WEC Lightweight Champion, and the only man to defeat Ben Henderson in the ZUFFA organizations, Anthony Pettis. That last win, in combination with Jim Miller’s defeat at the hands and elbows of Ben Henderson, caused the UFC to declare this a title challenger fight. For Clay Guida, the shot at doing something many never thought he’d reach. For Ben Henderson, reaching the apex of the sport after his emotional loss to Anthony Pettis in the final WEC event.
Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida
Round 1:
No glove tap to start this out. This reminds me of the hair match of the century. Bendo has the center and Guida is circling around. Guida comes in with a left-right hook combo that misses. Bendo comes in with a jab, and Guida tries countering it with the same combo. Guida throws a leg kick that Bendo checks. A lot of feinting from Guida, which is the norm I suppose. Bendo fakes a high kick and Guida counters with a combo that misses, but it does back Bendo up. They’re close to the cage and Guida tries storming after Bendo, but Bendo clocks him with a left and drops him momentarily. Guida tries to shoot but Bendo defends and circles around. Guida’s back is against the cage and they are literally throwing down hard. Bendo lands a hook that drops Guida again, Guida falls to his knees and tries to shoot but Bendo sprawls on him. Bendo now throwing some light ground and pound. Guida pushes and tries to take Bendo down again, but Bendo’s defense is excelling. Bendo has a front headlock and pushes Guida back against the cage. He’s throwing some ground and pound to Guida’s head.
They stand and Bendo latches onto a double collar tie, trying to throw a knee but Guida defends. Guida closes in and grabs a double underhook and tries to take Bendo down, but he can’t. Guida circles around and pushes Bendo against the cage, really going for that takedown. Guida goes down to his knees against Bendo’s defense, still holding onto his leg and working for that takedown. Guida working for an ankle pick against Bendo, but Bendo’s having none of it. Guida stands up to his feet and tries to circle out on the takedown against the fence, but Bendo is now doing the splits and still sprawling on him. They stand up again and Guida pushes Bendo against the fence. Bendo lands a solid knee. Guida again looking for a takedown, but Bendo is defending. Guida pushing for the single hard, but can’t deliver. Bendo reverses the position in a minor clinch scramble and grabs ahold of double underhooks. Bendo landing some nice knees. Guida lifts up a leg, possibly for a takedown, but Bendo keeps control and lands another beautiful knee to the body. Guida tries pushing out, but Bendo gets him back against the fence. Guida pushes him out again and is wary of getting kneed, but Bendo uses his legs to push Guida back once more and land another great knee. Guida ducks down and tries for a single leg. He lifts it high but Bendo’s balance is impeccable, and he escapes out. Bendo throws a high kick that Guida blocks. He circles out and they meet at the center. Bendo is the aggressor, moving forward.
Bendo throws out a jab that Guida tries to counter with an overhand right, but he misses. Bendo misses on a leg kick and Guida chases him down, trying to catch him with punches. Bendo is backed against the cage and tries a superman punch off of it, it mostly misses and Bendo circles out and takes the center. Guida throws his hair back, because Fabio. Guida pressuring Bendo back some. He throws a left hook and then tries a jumping knee that misses Bendo’s head. Guida rushing forward, throwing wildly, backing Bendo against the cage. Bendo shoots forward and Guida latches onto a guillotine attempt, but he doesn’t even have control of Bendo’s head. Bendo circles around and pushes Guida against the cage, throwing a couples knees to the leg and body. Guida goes down to a knee and then stands back up, pushing Bendo backwards some. He doesn’t get far, and Bendo returns by throwing a knee to the solar plexus that hurts Guida, and then ducks under for a takedown. Guida is defending well, but he winds up on his butt, with Bendo sprawl/sitting on top of him. Bendo throwing some ground and pound as Guida tries to shoot on him. They stand up and Bendo lands a double collar tie and throws a wonderful knee. Then a head kick, and one more. Right before the bell rings, Bendo throws a front kick the Guida dodges.
Score: 10-9 Bendo. He got the takedown, dropped Guida twice, landed more strikes, and had superior positioning for majority of the round. (Note: I actually am having to watch this a 1/4 speed to get everything).
Round 2:
No glove tap again. Crowd is really loving this one. Nice feeling out process that ends with the two coming together, Bendo landing a knee to the body and Guida grabbing ahold of double underhooks. Guida pushes forward, looking for a trip but he falls down and loses control. He stands back up and Bendo hits him hard and then he ducks under for a takedown. He lifts Bendo’s leg high and drives him across the cage, and gets him down, but Bendo has control of his neck and looks for a choke. Guida tries a step over that fails and Bendo starts standing up again. Guida grabs a single leg but Bendo is sprawling on top of him, landing some elbows to the body. Guida standing up, but Bendo still sprawling. Bendo now pushing Guida back against the cage and throws some nice punches that make Guida cover up before ducking under and taking Guida down. Bendo’s in half guard and working on passing. He starts landing some shots to Guida, who is twisting around, trying to get to his feet. Bendo keeping a lot of pressure on him though. Guida is on his knees butt against the cage and Bendo is landing some good shots here. Guida pushes forward, trying to grand a leg, but Bendo is defending well. Guida stands up, Bendo keeping pressure on his head and throwing a knee as they rise, though it misses. Guida tries to throw a punch but Bendo drops down and goes for a takedown. He’s pushing hard for it. Guida is defending well, and lands a solid knee, which Bendo returns in kind, twice over. Guida tries to circle out, but Bendo maintains pressure and he can’t get away. Some more knees come in from Bendo. Three minutes to go and Guida has his back to the cage, and can’t really escape. He tries circling out again, but Bendo’s pushing him hard. Bendo throws an elbow that lands, and Guida, instead of throwing wildly, drops down to try and defend. He couldn’t stop Bendo getting his arms around on leg though. Guida gets hit with a knee and he grabs ahold of that leg, picking Bendo up and trying to slam him, but Bendo lands on his butt. Guida pushes Bendo back against the cage. Bendo lands some good elbows.
The two stand, Guida with a body lock. Bendo slides in an underhook. Guida trying to manhandle Bendo, but…it’s kind of difficult to do that, isn’t it? Guida landing some good knees to Bendo’s legs and then gets on up high against his head. He slides down to try a double leg, but Bendo gets both his arms in underhooks to defend. Finally, Bendo reverses the position. He lands one of those heel kicks to the leg. Things start getting wild and Bendo gives some space to throw a knee to the head that lands, before separating back. Both fix their hair. Guida throws a left-spinning backlist-leg kick combo that Bendo ducks under, and he spins out of control and falls to the ground. Bendo turns around and chases him down as Guida rolls over his shoulder and tries to go for a takedown, Bendo sprawls hard on Guida’s attempt. Bendo keeping heavy as Guida tries to stand up. He does after a moment, then gets hit by a hard knee from Bendo, who drops down for another takedown. Guida slides his arm around Bendo’s neck and tries to crank it for a guillotine. Then he jumps up and tries to pull guard, but Bendo stays strong doesn’t get caught there. He moves to side control and Guida releases. Guida rolls over belly down as Bendo takes his back. Bendo stays sticky to Guida’s back and Guida rolls off his belly. Bendo gets his legs into a figure four body lock and he starts throwing some punches onto Guida. So much hair. Guida defending some of these shots. Guida sits up, Bendo latched ahold, and puts his back (and Bendo’s) against the cage. The bell rings as Bendo throws punches at Clay Guida’s dome.
Score: 10-9 Bendo. It was closer than the first round, but it still came out as Bendo’s round, as he got more takedowns, more dominant positions, and landed the better shots. Clay Guida did have the most interesting spinning backfist attempt though, one that I haven’t seen beaten since Chael Sonnen’s in the second Anderson Silva fight. (20-18 Bendo overall).
Round 3:
Once again, no glove tap. Bendo throws out a jab that he overextends on, but Guida doesn’t capitalize. Bendo with a head kick that barely misses. Guida fakes a duck under or maybe an overhand right. Bendo with a jab and fake shoot. Lots of feinting in the beginning. Guida trying to counter Bendo’s jab with an overhand right. Guida charges in and gets hit with a leg kick, lands a hook, and then gets hit twice more on the way out by Bendo. They circle around some more and Bendo lands another leg kick. Bendo tries a front kick, but Guida sees it and moves back, out of range. Bendo tries another leg kick set up, Guida brings his leg up to check it, but Bendo swings it up and tries an axe kick. Guida charges in again, gets a couple punches in, but doesn’t get anything spectacular. Bendo with a straight right that Guida counters with a knee to the body. Bendo pushes through it and gets double underhooks. He pushes Guida against the cage. Once there, he lands a couple knees, continuing the steady diet he’s developed. Guida tries to circle out and create distance, which he does, and drops down for a double leg. He drives Bendo all the way across the cage and then can’t finish it. Bendo frees himself and circles around in the clinch and puts Guida’s back to the cage. He lands some nice punches, and a clean elbow to Guida’s face. He drops down again for a takedown, but Guida slides an arm down for an underhook and stops it. Bendo is on his knees now, with wrist control of Guida’s right arm. He stands up. Guida is staying pretty heavy on Bendo. There we go. Bendo slides up for an upright clinch against the cage again. Bendo going for a double collar tie, but Guida is keeping one hand away with a strong overhook on that side. Bendo gets his arm free and grabs the neck, bringing a knee up that doesn’t land completely. Guida tries to shoot on him and Bendo defends. They circle around, Guida trying for another takedown, but it’s stuffed. Bendo drops to a knee and Guida throws an uppercut, then a head kick as Bendo is standing up.
Bendo ducks underneath and then rushes forward to takedown Guida. He slides into side control, where he tries to put his knee on Guida’s belly. Guida slips Bendo’s knee off him and the grapevine’s his left leg. Bendo now with a couple good shots. Guida trying to slither out, but nothing is working. Guida kicks up and creates room, then rolls over to try and shoot on Bendo, but get’s stuffed. Bendo tries to hop over to take back control, but Guida grabs ahold of a leg. They’re circling some, and when Guida pushes to try and get into top control, Bendo slides his leg around and locks on a figure four body lock. There’s a minute and fifteen seconds left and Guida is trying to roll out of it. He might be able to. Wait, Bendo has one of Guida’s arms trapped in his figure four, and he’s really cranking on Guida’s neck. He lets go and tries to move into mount, but Guida is rolling onto his belly and Bendo decides it’s better to stand up. They both throw knees at each other and Bendo falls backwards, off-balance. Bendo gets to his butt and then Guida latches onto a guillotine attempt. He gets into Bendo’s half-guard, then starts moving into mount. Bendo is a feisty one though, and rocks back and forth to get Guida into side control. Bendo trying to twist around to take Guida’s back. Bendo wraps a leg up, and it looks similar to a wrestler’s guillotine (a twister), but neither Guida or Bendo is in any pain. Eventually Guida rolls around and Bendo gets to his knees. Guida looking for a front choke, but Bendo rolls and ends up on top of Guida, raining down punches. Guida rolls over to his knees, but Bendo’s base is too strong and Guida just keeps getting punched. Bell rings and Herb Dean steps between them.
Score: 10-9 Bendo. They both had some great offense, from Bendo’s knees and ground and pound, to Clay’s submission attempts and takedowns. The deciding factor for me in this round was definitely Bendo’s ability to reverse positions very quickly and start landing strong strikes, be it knees in the clinch or ground and pound. Both had a couple takedowns, but Bendo’s were the more controlled (i.e. they weren’t based off slips). (30-27 Bendo overall).
The Judges score it: 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27, for the unanimous victor and new title challenger, Benson “Smooth” Henderson.
Fighter Thoughts: Bendo looked sharp, but had issues with Clay’s speed, more so than he did with Jim Miller. Maybe it was Guida going for takedowns more often, or maybe it was Miller’s penchant for trying submission over position, but it seemed to me that Bendo had more issues with Clay Guida than he did Jim Miller. It was a fun fight, but I didn’t see much improvement from the Jim Miller fight, more like Bendo did his game a tad bit better, but nothing significant from the last fight to this one.
(Keep checking back daily for more of The 13 Days of Bendo leading up to his title fight with Anthony Pettis!)
-Connor can be reached @connorhavok.
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