Rarely do champion versus champion bouts ever come to fruition, but thanks to Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce and some pesky Showtime contracts that held fights back, we finally have a legitimate champ vs. champ match-up Saturday night as UFC champion Benson Henderson takes on longtime and the last Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.
Strikeforce crossovers have done rather well so far in their UFC debuts, will we see their former champ and perhaps biggest star shock the mixed martial arts world as over a 2-1 underdog? We shall se in just a few hours!
Melendez (21-2) comes into the bout in a little bit of a funk it seems. Clearly disinterested in his Strikeforce shackles, Melendez put on two lackluster title defenses versus two men also on this card, Jorge Masvidal and Josh Thomson.
Not to discredit either man’s performances, but even the most casual of fan could tell the difference between the Melendez in those two fights versus the dominate one that had shown up the previous five. It was those five bouts that had fans and media alike yearning for a showdown with the UFC lightweight champion. His first bout in the UFC, in front of his hometown, and for the lightweight strap, he should be plenty motivated for this one.
Melendez comes from a wrestling base, but prefers now to use that base to keep fights standing, where he’s become a very capable striker, especially with his hands. He utilizes an effective jab to work inside and set up powerful, accurate hooks to the body and head of his opponents. On the ground he’s good in scrambles, which will be important against a guy like Henderson. Melendez will likely try to keep this fight on the feet, where he will have a distinct power advantage over Henderson.
Henderson (18-2) comes off a decisive title defense over Melendez’s teammate Nate Diaz. Before that he had earned the belt by defeating Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision, and once again beat Edgar in a rematch via a controversial split decision. Henderson has been on a meteoric rise since losing his WEC belt against Anthony Pettis in the classic “Showtime kick” fight, winning six straight and seemingly improving rapidly every fight. His mission is to be mentioned among the GSP’s/Anderson Silva’s of the world, beating Gilbert Melendez would be a nice step in that direction.
Henderson is an all around mixed martial artist who is as dedicated to his craft as anybody in the game. He possess the size and athleticism that is unmatched by any lightweight in the world, to go along with his always improving overall game. His strength is his wrestling, excelling in getting superior positions whether by takedowns or forcing scrambles, and working effective ground and pound. His stand up game is as technical as it is diverse, where he usually succeeds with keeping his opponents off balance with a variety of kicks. Setting up takedowns by keeping Gilbert guessing with kicks the way Thomson has had success against Gil is likely a game plan Benson will try to utilize in this fight.
In my opinion, Henderson is the overall superior fighter in every category except for power strikes. Benson has been staggered before, but has shown the ability to recover quickly. Gilbert will have to try to force exchanges in the pocket and try to clip Henderson to steal rounds. I believe Henderson’s power and athleticism will be the difference in this fight of two very skilled lightweights as he’ll take another unanimous decision victory, foiling the hometown kids UFC debut.