5. Benson Henderson (C) Vs. Anthony Pettis UFC 164
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzOmQRM8g7Y Result: Pettis defeated Henderson via verbal submission (armbar) at 4:31 of round 1 Prior to what would have been the fourth defence of his UFC lightweight championship, most believed that if Benson Henderson was able to utilise his strength and wrestling advantages to take the challenger down and control him, he would likely retain his 155-lbs belt. The main threat posed by Pettis was thought to be his incredibly high level striking in particular, the challengers kicks were known to be devastating. One of the things which made us all fall in love with MMA is the unpredictability and much like the previously discussed Forrest Griffin submission victory nobody saw this one coming. Though Pettis had demonstrated his tricky submission game in the past, most MMA fans had let this skillset be overshadowed by the Showtime kick and his TKO victory over Donald Cerrone. The start of the fight went according the script a series of body kicks from Pettis visibly hurt Benson so he took the challenger down to the mat. This was where the champion would win the fight; or so we thought. However, in a confusing blur, Benson postured up to unload some heavy ground-and-pound and suddenly the fight was over as hed been caught in an exquisite armbar. Anthony Pettis proved how incredibly dangerous he is off his back and we had a new lightweight champion. Nearly equalling the skill of the armbar was Pettis sportsmanship to release the submission even though Benson hadnt physically tapped a commendable way for a fighter to start their reign as champion.
Sam Heard
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Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
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