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« | Home | »

“Just a typical Ben Henderson fight…”

By Zach Arnold | January 22, 2014

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Event: UFC Fox 10 in Chicago, Illinois at the United Center
TV: Fox Sports 1/Fox broadcast affiliates

Thoughts on the show

I suppose 48-47 for Ben Henderson works, but 49-46 (four rounds to one) does not. Scoring on volume seems to be the achilles heel of so many MMA judges. And, once again, a big UFC fight has Sal D’Amato as a main event judge.

Curt Menefee did not bring his A-game. The mood of the TV crew was flat. No interviews after fights. UFC & Fox rushed right off air after the Henderson decision was announced.

Fox Sports 1 ran a very compelling piece about Adriano Martins that I thought was really well done and apparently nobody saw it. The way UFC treated the Chicago show on Fox versus last month’s telecast from Sacramento was night and day. So much more energy for the December show, and that show didn’t clock in with great ratings.

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

24 Responses to ““Just a typical Ben Henderson fight…””

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    That is not worthy of a FOX card.

    **********

    I wanted to go to UFC 169 but couldn’t find a hotel room within 30 miles of the place that wasn’t over $400. So I wonder how attendance will be impacted due to it being right next to the Superbowl.

    **********

    Part of the problem with Featherweight and Bantamweight is that Aldo & Barao have very boring personalities. The Brazilian market doesn’t even seem to care about them all that much either.

    • Nepal says:

      UFC 169 is a PPV??? It has Aldo and Faber on it but only hard cores know these little guys. Mir has taken hellacious head trauma in his last 4 fights. The bloom is off the Overeem rose. Neither of these guys is going to move the needle anymore.

      I get the all the PPV’s included in my cable package, just can’t imagine paying for a card such as this.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        The PPV will not sell well. I do think it is a solid card considering that it has 2 competitive title fights on it.

        My new 2014 policy for ordering UFC PPV’s is:

        1) Heavyweight to Welterweight Title Fight
        2) More then 1 title fight.

        So I will be ordering UFC 169. I won’t be ordering UFC 170 with Rousey/McMann. I like McMann as a fighter, but that event should not be on PPV. That is the type of event that should be on FOX.

        Should be interesting to see what they try to piece together for PPV’s in May and June. It is going to look ugly.

  2. david m says:

    Can someone tell me how Frank Mir keeps getting medically cleared to fight?

  3. 45 Huddle says:

    Take it for what it’s worth… But there are heavy rumors going around that GSP is working on a fighter’s union right now.

    If this is true…. WAY TO GO GSP!!!!

  4. Diaz's cashed bowl says:

    Lousy judging again, Bendo 49-46?!? who was that judge? they need to be suspended. 48-47 victory for punk on my card even with a broken hand.
    I CAN see how it could go 48-47 to Bendo, but rounds 1,4 were clearly for Punk.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      There is no way Thomson didn’t win Rounds 1 and 4. That judge should never be given an assignment again.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Thomson won on 10 of the 13 scorecards from some of the bigger MMA Websites.

        The judges they have really do not understand grappling at all. 2 of the judges gave Henderson Round 4.

        I still like a big fight, but man my interest in this sport is going down big time. I fast forwarded through most of the prelims. And I even fast forwarded through half of the FOX card. If the UFC can’t be putting on fights on FOX that even a hardcore fan like myself cares about…. They are doing something very very wrong.

  5. 45 Huddle says:

    And let me go off on something here….

    WTF is Sergio Pettis doing in the UFC. The kid is obviously talented. And I know he has 10 fights already. But he is only a kid still. There is no reason for him to be in the shark tank like the UFC. A good management team would of had him in the RFA for another year. And then put him over to the WSOF or Titan (since Bellator is not an option for a future career in the UFC). Let him get some real experience and let his body mature properly. When he is 24 or so, then he should make the push towards the UFC.

    This is complete career suicide right now. They are going to ruin their young fighter.

    Just disgusting…

    • Alan Conceicao says:

      There’s no money in the sport to make it worthwhile to protect guys. His management team would need to find investors to buy into him and let him train full time. Would never happen in this environment. What is the best payoff they could hope for? 50/50?

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Olympic Athletes sleep at friends houses because they are broke and chasing a dream.

        What is going to happen to Little Pettis is that he is going to take enough loses at this young age and never be able to really recoup from it. And then money will never be available to him in this sport.

        Not to mention that his young age it should be about gaining skills not fighting in the lions pit. Many guys are in college at that age wrestling and getting better. It would have been smart for him to do the same… let his body mature… and then make a run for it.

        Just because there is little money in the sport outside of the UFC doesnt mean what he is doing with his career is smart.

        • Alan Conceicao says:

          Olympic athletes know they are involved in an amateur sport. These are professional fighters. Whole different universe. Naturally his management is going to push him where the money is now rather than run the risk he absorbs some Ls fighting for pocket lint and sponsorships paid for in free gloves and shirts.

  6. Tradition Rules says:

    I have to agree, Rounds 1 and 4 were Thomson’s rounds, and I was pulling for Henderson.

    And, honestly, if Josh doesn’t break his thumb, I think Josh would have won….

  7. rst says:

    So apparently gonzaga is still gonzaga?
    I probably could have told you that.
    I was hoping Miocic would carry the Nelson win momentum up another rung with a finish over the clubber.
    Apparently hope isn’t worth its reputation.

  8. Diaz's cashed bowl says:

    Stipe is the new Arlovski.
    Benson should be forced to fight Kabib and Pettis vs Punk when they heal up.

    Also, if anyone here wants to watch the Bendo Punk fight again, can you explain why?
    I’ll watch it again for the high level grappling exchanges led by the Punk, not the striking led by Bendo.

  9. Nepal says:

    I think Josh lost that fight due to bad planning or bad on-the-fly planning. Let’s see, Josh has excellent kicks, one of this best weapons, he has a broken hand. What to do? Let’s not throw kicks, yeah that’s the plan. WTF???

    His corner was saying let your feet go over and over. Christ, maybe when he said his hand was broken, maybe he meant his foot was broken.

    • Diaz's cashed bowl says:

      I think he lost because the judges are garbage.

      • Nepal says:

        It’s not true that he lost because the judges are garbage. I’m not saying they’re not but in this case it is not a stretch to give it 48-47 for either fighter.

        My point is that Josh couldn’t punch effectively nor grapple effectively and still didn’t use one of his best weapons, his kicks. Had he focused on a kicking attack, would it have made a difference? I have no idea but I do know not using kicking while being unable to punch and grapple was stupid.

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