The main event of one of the biggest fight cards the UFC has put together in quite some time showcased two of the best MMA fighters in the world, Nate Diaz vs. Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight championship. The fight didn’t go quite like many expected it, but it went just how the champ Benson Henderson thought it would.

The champ used his size and strength advantage to control Diaz for most of the 25-minute fight. Nate Diaz was never able to really get anything going on the feet because Benson Henderson was closing the distance and putting Diaz against the cage at ease. Henderson was able to get his fifth takedown in the beginning of the fourth round and added a few more by the end of the fight. This fight marked the first time that Nate Diaz has been to a fourth and fifth round but it didn’t seem to be an issue, his cardio was no problem, he just seemed overwhelmed by the size and strength of the champion.

Benson Henderson came in and executed his game plan flawlessly and didn’t let Diaz bate him in with his talk or hand gesturing. There was a few times Nate went for some submission attempts but nothing that had the champ in trouble. Henderson used great wrestling to control Diaz and land big strikes when he got the challenger to the ground. It was much of the same thing for most of the fight, Henderson controlling Diaz, landing some strikes, then a scramble, and then Diaz getting to his feet. Benson Henderson was able to control the pace and keep Diaz from using his reach advantage in the standup, which had Diaz off his game.

Benson Henderson fought a very smart fight, executed his game plan and controlled Nate Diaz for pretty much 5 rounds. Benson Henderson landed 133 significant strikes total during the five round main event. After the fight the two gave each other a fist bump and Nate raised the hand of Benson Henderson showing respect and acknowledging the fact that he knew the champion had defeated him. The Judges gave scores of 50-43, 50-45,50-45 giving the unanimous decision victory to the UFC lightweight champion Benson “smooth” Henderson.

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