UFC Lightweight Chaos

UFC Lightweight Chaos

On August 31^st, 2013, UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson is set to defend his title against #1 contender T.J. Grant. Coming into the UFC 164 matchup, Ben will attempt to defend his title for a fourth time. Even after beating Frankie Edgar twice (once to win the belt and once to defend it), running through Nate Diaz and pulling out a very controversial split decision win over Gilbert Melendez, the UFC’s lightweight division is as murky as ever. A plethora of contenders has created some parody in what many consider to be the most competitive division in the UFC.

First let me say that T.J. Grant is, without a doubt, the most deserving of a shot at Henderson’s lightweight strap. Since Grant dropped from welterweight to lightweight, T.J. has reeled off 5 straight victories, with 3 of the wins coming by way of stoppage, including 2 tko/ko performances against Matt Wiman and Gray Maynard. Grant has truly solidified his place in the division. However, there are some big questions about the future of the division.

 

Before I break it all down I will have to take a deep breath. Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more.

While Ben Henderson is the current UFC lightweight champion, his victories have been less than convincing. With the Nate Diaz fight being the exception, Henderson has defended his belt three times via extremely close decisions. Many people thought that Henderson should not have received the unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar in their first fight and even more people believed he lost their second fight as well. After beating TUF champion Nate Diaz in a one sided match in December 2012, Henderson again came out the victor in a controversial split decision win against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7 in April 2013. Yet another fight that a majority of fans and fellow fighters thought Henderson had lost.

On the same show on FOX that Henderson defended his title against Melendez, former Strikeforce lightweight contender Josh “The Punk” Thompson returned to the octagon in devastating fashion. With one headkick and several unanswered punches to the head of Nate Diaz, Thompson announced his arrival and presence in the UFC’s lightweight division adding yet another top contender. After not only beating but finishing Nate Diaz, Thompson, finally healthy after struggling with multiple injuries for a couple of years, cannot be ignored. Nate had never been finished in the UFC and for Josh to do so in such a convincing manner, “The Punk” should not be brushed to the side. While I agree that Josh needs one more fight against a top contender to further solidify his place in the division, there could be an argument made that he is ready now.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis adds yet another interesting element to the lightweight title picture. Not only is Pettis the last W.E.C. lightweight champion, he is the last person to beat current UFC champion Ben Henderson. When the W.E.C. folded in December of 2010 and the ranks of the bantamweights, featherweights and lightweights were merged with the UFC roster, Anthony Pettis was promised an immediate title shot against then champ Frankie Edgar. Unfortunately for Pettis, Gray Maynard and Frankie fought to a draw in their UFC 125 fight the following January, precipitating a rematch for Maynard. After an injury forced the delay of the scheduled rematch between Edgar and Maynard, Pettis was forced to take a fight against fan favorite Clay Guida. Things didn’t quite go as planned for Pettis as he was out wrestled and left the building with a unanimous decision loss. Pettis has since put together a 3 fight win streak that includes brutal finishes over Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone. With those wins Pettis put himself in a great position to get his long overdue title shot against Henderson, but Pettis did not want to wait. He wanted a title shot in the UFC. Instead of waiting for the winner of Henderson vs. Melendez, he opted to drop to featherweight for a shot at the 145lb champion Jose Aldo. A good move? Not so much. In preparation for his fight against Aldo, Pettis injured his knee and was forced to withdraw from their scheduled fight at UFC 163 on August 3, 2013. Yet another title fight was taken from Pettis. We all know that “Showtime” will get his long awaited UFC title shot in his next fight. We just don’t know whether it will be at 145lbs or 155lbs. This causes further confusion in the lightweight division.

 

When we talk about the depth of the UFC’s lightweight division, we cannot ignore perennial contenders Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jim Miller, Pat Healy and the fast rising Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos has reeled off 4 straight wins and has won 8 of his last 10 fights. While dos Anjos needs another couple of wins to make a case for a lightweight title shot, with all of the craziness we have seen in the stacked lightweight division, do not consider it out of the realm of possibility.

If this doesn’t confuse you, I have done my job. If it does mess with your head a little bit, don’t feel bad. We are all a little bemused.

Thank you and stay safe.

Randy Casjens

Twitter- @SavageRandy