Benson Henderson successfully defended the UFC lightweight title on Saturday night against Frankie Edgar and he will now defend his title against Nate Diaz.
Both fighters appeared on “Inside MMA” on AXS TV last night and talked about their upcoming bout, which is likely to happen before the end of the year. Henderson says that there are two things he has to worry about when it comes to preparing to take on Diaz.
“First thing first, is his reach, but let me go a step before that,” Henderson said. “Before his reach, I think it’s more the attitude the Diaz brothers bring. They get fighters very worked up emotionally where they just want to throw their game plan. So first and foremost, I have to keep my emotional state in check.”
Diaz won “The Ultimate Fighter” during season five and this will be his first title shot in the UFC. He made it known that he did not want to fight Frankie Edgar, since they both train under the Gracie family. He believes that Edgar did win the fight this past Saturday night, but got the fight he wanted.
“I think that Frankie won personally,” Diaz said. “I think Frankie did a little more than he (Henderson) did. People ask me who I thought was going to win. I said I would rather fight Ben Henderson, but I’m not saying I want Frankie to lose. So it kind of worked out for me. Now I’m fighting Ben and I don’t have to fight Frankie.”
Both fighters appear to be healthy and Henderson said after UFC 150 that he wants to get back into the octagon as soon as possible. UFC President Dana White has said that this fight will happen before the end of 2012. A potential date for Henderson and Diaz to meet could be on December 8th. That night will be the next UFC on FOX card and that fight card currently does not have a main event.