Anthony Pettis got his opportunity for UFC gold on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 164 and he did not waste his opportunity as he defeated Benson Henderson by submission in the first round to win the lightweight title.
Henderson opened the fight by pressuring Pettis against the fence and looked to take the fight to the ground. Pettis was able to defend the attempt and breakaway from Henderson. Once again, Henderson would look to take the fight to the ground and Pettis would stop the attempt.
Pettis began to land his leg kicks to the body that appeared to hurt Henderson. He attempted to land another leg kick, but Henderson caught the kick and took the fight to the ground.
With the fight on the ground, Pettis looked for an armbar submission and Henderson attempted to get out of the hold. He would not be able to get out of the submission and verbally submitted.
Pettis (17-2) now has seven career wins by submission and in his post fight interview with Joe Rogan, he said he wants to fight featherweight champion Jose Aldo next.
UFC 164 Results:
Anthony Pettis def. Benson Henderson via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:31
Josh Barnett def. Frank Mir via TKO (knee) – Round 1, 1:56
Chad Mendes def. Clay Guida via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, :30
Ben Rothwell def. Brandon Vera via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:54
Dustin Poirier def. Erik Koch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Gleison Tibau def. Jamie Varner via split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
Tim Elliot def. Louis Gaudinot via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Hyun Gyu Lim def. Pascal Krauss via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:58
Chico Camus def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Soa Palelei def. Nikita Krylov via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:34
Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, :57