UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II Post-Fight Thoughts And Analysis

(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The UFC returned to the “Mile High City” for the second time in 11-months with UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II in Denver. Benson “Smooth” Henderson successfully defended his UFC lightweight championship against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar in the main event of the evening. The result of the main event has stirred up plenty of talk as scorecards for the championship bout were all over the place, but most felt Edgar was deserving of becoming a two-time world champion.

Aside from the main event, the card had its ups and downs with seven of the 10 fights ending inside the distance. The high points of the night were Erik Perez knocking out Ken Stone in a UFC bantamweight record 17-seconds and Donald Cerrone finishing his friend and former teammate Melvin Guillard by knockout early in the first round.

Catch my UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II post-fight thoughts and analysis for the main card below.

• For the second time, Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar fought a competitive 25-minute fight. And for the second time, a bout between the two ended in controversy. Henderson was awarded a split decision victory to retain his UFC lightweight champion much to the chagrin of many fans and media members. This writer had the bout scored 49-46 in Edgar’s favor, giving him the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds. One judge scored it that way, but the other two gave Henderson the fight three rounds to two and “Smooth” walked away with the gold. To be honest, Henderson didn’t do much in the fight. Edgar was the quicker of the two, landed solid counter punches, dropped Henderson and was successful on more than one takedown. It was an unfortunate ending to the fight and Edgar certainly deserves another crack at the gold but he will have to earn it as Nate Diaz has already been pegged as the No. 1 contender and next challenger to the 155-pound title. It wouldn’t be a UFC event without a little controversy, and the result of the UFC 150 main event has given everyone something to talk about. Unfortunate result for Edgar, but life goes on.
• Donald Cerrone and Melvin Guillard promised to stand and exchange punches and that’s exactly what they did for all 76-seconds of their co-main event bout. After Cerrone got hurt badly by a Guillard punch in the opening seconds of the fight, “Cowboy” regained composure and knocked Guillard out cold with a headkick followed by a colossal right hand square on the chin of “The Young Assassin”. It was a very exciting fight for the short time it lasted and you can’t help but be impressed by Cerrone’s ability to come back from adversity and pull out the win. Cerrone called out Anthony Pettis prior to the event and it is very likely he will get that fight after the huge win in front of his home state crowd.
• In his UFC middleweight debut, Jake Shields won a unanimous decision over Ed Herman. It was far from an entertaining fight as the crowd booed both competitors vigorously. With that said, Shields looked much better than he did at welterweight, got the win and started his stint in the new division on the right foot. When the former Strikeforce champion was able to take the fight to the ground, he completely controlled Herman, attempting submission and working his ground-and-pound. Both men were exhausted by the end of the fight but Shields was the stronger of the two over the 15-minute battle. While it was far from the ‘Fight of the Night’, Shields won his second-straight UFC fight for the first time since joining the organization in late 2010.
• Yushin Okami completely outclassed Buddy Roberts in their middleweight fight to earn a second-round TKO victory. While Roberts had his moments in when the fight stayed standing, he was completely helpless once Okami brought the fight to the ground. It wasn’t the most thrilling battle, but after losing two fights in a row, Okami picked up a much-needed win and got back on track. Okami keeps his status as a top-10 185-pound fighter and will get a higher caliber of opponent in his next fight.
• Max Holloway and Justin Lawrence engaged in a technical striking battle in the opening fight of the UFC 150 pay-per-view broadcast. The fight was extremely competitive up until the final seconds of the second round when Holloway threw a stinging right hook to the body, followed by a liver shot that sent “The Ultimate Fighter” season 14 cast member down in pain. Lawrence was unable to recover from the powerful body shots and after a flurry of follow-up punches on the ground referee Josh Rosenthal called an end to the fight. After losing his UFC debut to Dustin Poirier last year, the 20-year-old Holloway is really starting to find his groove in the octagon, winning back-to-back fights. With a dynamic striking attack and improving ground skills, Holloway has an unlimited amount of potential and could be a future title contender at 145-pounds.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.