On Saturday night, at the UFC 150 fight card in Denver, Colo., Frankie Edgar will look to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship when he challenges Benson "Smooth" Henderson for the title. The bout will be a rematch of their five-round classic at UFC 144 in February in Tokyo, and the UFC has prepared fans for the rematch by making the first encounter available for free at UFC.com. After reviewing Edgar-Henderson I, here are a few thoughts about what it will mean for the second encounter.
SWR scored the fight 48-47 for Henderson, with "Bendo" winning the second, fourth and fifth rounds and Edgar winning the first and third. Edgar was very close to winning the second and fifth rounds as well, but Henderson found success late in each round to clinch them. In particular, the upkick that "Bendo" landed on Edgar late in the second round before climbing on top and unleashing punishment was a fight-changing strike, as it left Edgar bloodied and eliminated any doubt as to who won the round. Edgar will do well in the rematch to avoid any such blows.
A few other points from the first bout that will be interesting to watch on Saturday night:
Edgar needs to make his takedowns count: Edgar put his collegiate wrestling background to good use at UFC 144, taking Henderson down on a regular basis, but he was rarely able to keep the larger "Bendo" on the ground. Henderson was able to stand up with relative ease, and made excellent use of a standing kimura to force Edgar to release his hold. "The Answer" will need to live up to his billing on Saturday and find a solution to Henderson's strategy.
Catching kicks: Henderson was happy to throw kicks in Tokyo in February, and Edgar was happy to catch them. Having the challenger off balance gave Edgar an offensive opportunity, but the kicks did damage. Edgar's corner advised him to stop catching kicks in the later rounds at UFC 144, and it will be interesting to see how Edgar approaches the situation on Saturday night.
Avoid the guillotine: Henderson was active with his guillotine choke at UFC 144, and his last attempt, in the final minute of the fight, may have helped him clinch the last round and the title. He also had Edgar in trouble with the hold in the fourth round. When Edgar uses his wrestling, a guillotine choke can be a dangerous threat, and Edgar will have to be ready for it on Saturday night.
In his recent battles with B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard, Edgar has shown the ability to improve tremendously between fights. If he does that again on Saturday, he could reclaim his title. However, with the effort that Henderson turned in at UFC 144, Edgar will have a lot of work to do in order to turn the tide.
