UFC Fight Night 42: 11 Matches To Make For The Winners

1. Benson Henderson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHLMyF3cnck Benson Henderon basically wins against any lightweight fighter not named Anthony Pettis, and here's where the problem starts: He's lost to Pettis twice, and lost a belt to him each time. Of course, his loss of the WEC belt is infamous for the Pettis "cage kick" that shocked the world, to the point that people forget that kick didn't knock Henderson out - he actually lost a decision. To make matters worse, in their 2013 rematch, Pettis shocked the world again, by making quick work of the champ, submitting him via armbar in the first round. 0-2 in their series, Henderson will really have to shine to get a third shot at Pettis in a deep lightweight division. However, he's on the right course, with wins over third ranked Josh Thompson and Saturday's defeat of Rustam Khabilov. A fight that makes sense is Rafael dos Anjos, who also faught on Saturday's card and secured a victory over Jason High. The two have never faught, dos Anjos is ranked number 5 by the UFC, and with Pettis set to face Gilbert Melendez at the end of their Ultimate Fighter coaching gig, the timing is right: a late fall matchup between Henderson and dos Anjos would put Henderson back to the forefront, while dos Anjos would have a big time win were he to pull off the upset. Another intriguing matchup would be the undefeated, wig-wearing, bear wrestling Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov has won six straight in the UFC, 22 straight overall, and holds the UFC record for number of takedowns in a match, scoring 21 out of 27 attempts. Oh, and he happens to hold a win over dos Anjos. So why am I giving dos Anjos the nod? Timing, in part - Nurmagomedov is apparently taking a bit of time off, and dos Anjos and Henderson escaped Saturday night without taking too much damage from the looks of things. Frankly, either option is a great one for the fans.