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[Sakara=Excitement]

MMAjunkie.com

SEATTLE – After it was all over but before it was official, UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson walked across the cage and put his face up against the fence to address the reporters as they were gathering up their laptops on press row.

Maybe Henderson (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) didn’t realize he was talking to people who make their livings with words, and who will therefore never stop trying to extract them even from people who cling to them like they cost money. But fine, even we can take a hint when it’s shouted at us. And now, thanks to his thorough beatdown of Nate Diaz (16-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 5 event at Seattle’s KeyArena, maybe we’re starting to realize that there’s more to Henderson than what he is not.

If there was a knock on Henderson coming into his first non-rematch title defense, it was that he tended to play it too safe. He hadn’t finished anyone in his unbeaten UFC run, had just barely taken and then defended the title in a couple of squeakers against Frankie Edgar, and the dreaded words "point-fighter" were being whispered behind his back. When those of us in the media took those whispers and presented them to his face, he claimed a mix of ignorance and indifference. He didn’t care how he won, he said, so long as he did. It seemed like maybe the worst position he could adopt.

But then there he was, in the fifth round of a fight he was clearly winning on the scorecards, and he was doing anything but coasting. Henderson the point-fighter, Henderson the play-it-safe round-stealer, was still out there taking chances in order to put a beating on one of the most durable lightweights in the UFC. The guy who was supposedly out to do just enough to win was now pretty busy putting a violent stamp on his lightweight title reign. For a nice guy, he was starting to show a little bit of a mean streak.

If we didn’t get the message after 25 minutes of that, we probably never will.

Of course, he still doesn’t have a finish to point to. He still went from five straight decisions to six, which his detractors can always point to when they insist on denying the champ his due. But somewhere in there, probably while he was pounding the mean right off Diaz’s mug, he inadvertently proved that it does, in fact, matter how you win.

But just like all victories are not created equal, neither are all decisions. Turns out there’s a significant difference between squeaking by and dominating, and now that he’s tried both as lightweight champ I think I can guess which one Henderson prefers. Hint: It’s the one where he doesn’t have to wait for the decision to be announced before he feels confident enough about the victory to go and yell at reporters about it.

You could argue that the win over Diaz just reiterated what we already knew about Henderson. He proved once again that he knows how to stick to a game plan, and also that he has the very Georges St-Pierre-esque ability to match his opponent’s strengths en route to exploiting their weaknesses. He may have also proved that those people who regard his title reign as a boring blip that must be temporarily tolerated will be in for a longer wait than they thought. Anybody who puts that kind of beating on a fighter the caliber of Diaz is a man who must be taken seriously, probably for a very long time.

That, too, is a point we may be finally starting to get now. It took some time, and it might require a few more beatings before it sinks all the way in, but it’s gradually becoming clear that Henderson did not become a UFC champion thanks to some accident of poor judging. He got there by being very good at what he is and not trying to be what he isn’t. As long as he seems so comfortable with that, the rest of us might as well get used to it too.

[JPeezy]

6 straight decision wins, 2 of them controversial. I think I got the message loud and clear.

[dj triple]

i think he needs to fight Pettis again before i care... it seems to me like he wants people to like him so bad that i almost don't like him just because of it..

[Mr. Cornute]

Originally Posted by JPeezy

6 straight decision wins, 2 of them controversial. I think I got the message loud and clear.

6 Decision Wins, 2 against one of the most hard to finish fighters in the UFC & the other 4 utter domination.
He is the epitome of a Mixed Martial Artist & never has a boring fight.

[kabenjis]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cornute

6 Decision Wins, 2 against one of the most hard to finish fighters in the UFC & the other 4 utter domination.
He is the epitome of a Mixed Martial Artist & never has a boring fight.

I agree. Benson hasnt once put on a bad fight. He goes into the octogon every time trying to WIN the fight, not just point out a victory. It's not like he hasnt been fighting the best ppl in his weight class by any means. But did he really fight the whole fight with a toothpick in his mouth? lol

[rob_bills]

I was really let down by Diaz in this fight.. I love/hate the Diaz bro's style. Its great to watch when they find a guy who is similar to them, but as soon as they fight a dude with an intelligent game plan they are screwed.

They have little to no footwork, and just get lit up by a smart striker with good foot movement, watching Nate last night reminded me of how Nick got kicked over and over by Condit.

Congrats to Bendo, I'm not a fan but he really did dominate.

[dbader08]

Yeah it was a great fight by Bendo. He obviously trains his ass off, comes in big and in great shape and never gets tired.

It's no coincidence that most champions are pretty big for their weightclass, Diaz is going to have to work on his clinch game and add a bit more strength if he ever wants to be champ...maybe also just do leg presses a shitload since Henderson's are twice as big as his lol

[MIZjitsZOU]

Originally Posted by dbader08

Yeah it was a great fight by Bendo. He obviously trains his ass off, comes in big and in great shape and never gets tired.

It's no coincidence that most champions are pretty big for their weightclass, Diaz is going to have to work on his clinch game and add a bit more strength if he ever wants to be champ...maybe also just do leg presses a shitload since Henderson's are twice as big as his lol

Bendo could squat a buick.

[MickeyKnox]

To each his own, but I don't feel that he has made his bones as the LW champ yet. That's just me. Take it however you want. His razor thin, controversial wins over Edgar were not that impressive. He kicked Nates ass which was a nice display of his skills but it was so one sided. He needs someone to take him to war.

Only message I've gotten from Bendo is that our God is an awesome God, la laa lalala la la...

[Sakara=Excitement]

Bendo could squat a Diaz, that's for sure.