Manny Pacquiao losing to Timothy Bradley was a robbery. The UFC 150 main event between Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar was a close decision but there was nothing wrong with the final outcome.
Fan and media outcry flooded Twitter immediately after the event as the majority of people watching, and nearly all of the MMA media tweeting about it believed Edgar was going to be awarded the decision.
If it was put to a public vote Edgar would be a two-time champion — fortunately that’s not how MMA decisions are awarded — but Henderson defended his lightweight title by winning a split decision. The judges scored the bout 48-47 Henderson, 49-46 Edgar and 48-47 Henderson.
Some say that karma played a role in this decision since Edgar has been the beneficiary of close, controversial decisions in his draw against Gray Maynard and his first win over BJ Penn. But really that’s beside the point and not a valid explanation at all for what happened at UFC 150.
And throw out all the “you have to beat the champ to be the champ” talk too.
If Edgar did enough to win on Saturday, he should have been given the decision.
The problem is he didn’t. Henderson was victorious is because he did more than enough to win the fight.
It’s ironic that Edgar’s nickname is “The Answer” because in half of his fights dating back to when he first fought Penn for the title, there have been few answers as to why the scorecards read the way they did.
There is no doubting that the fight was tightly contested, as rounds three, four and five could have potentially gone either way. Those who scored the bout for Edgar and say the decision was a robbery are a bit off base and could have been swayed by several things.
This is not a knock on Edgar’s skill set or heart — those are undeniable — but his style is misleading. By darting in and out quickly, using a lot of head movement, footwork and throwing plenty of feints, Edgar has a way of making it look like he’s doing more than he really is.
Against Henderson he would come forward and throw a combination, and in real time it looked like he was being the aggressor and winning many exchanges. But if you really examine the strikes that landed flush and were effective you get a different perspective.
The number of effective strikes he lands is far less than the number he throws. And the ones he did land were not as effective as his opponent’s. In a fight with only a couple grappling exchanges the judges were primarily looking at how the striking exchanges played out.
According to FightMetric, Edgar outlanded Henderson in total strikes (70 to 67) and significant strikes (66 to 64) but those numbers certainly do not tell the story of this fight.
For example, FightMetric indicates that Edgar landed 22 significant leg strikes and Henderson landed 17. But if you ask anyone that watched the fight, who got the better in the leg-striking department?, they will all say Henderson because that was the case.
Also, for fans and media watching the event and listening to the broadcast, UFC commentator Joe Rogan showed a bias towards what Edgar was doing, especially late in the fight.
More often than not, when the two would land simultaneously, Rogan would comment on the shot Frankie landed, even if it wasn’t as hard as what Henderson landed. This could have swayed fans watching on TV into thinking Edgar was doing more than he was.
In my mind, it was baffling that anyone scored their first fight (at UFC 144) for Edgar. At UFC 150, however, an argument can be made that Edgar won three of the five rounds.
If you’re one of the people still shocked by the decision, here is a round-by-round breakdown of the UFC 150 main event explaining why and how two judges and many others, including myself, scored the fight for Henderson:
Round 1
Henderson came out an established some solid leg kicks, even knocking Edgar down with one of them. The champion controlled the centre of the Octagon for the majority of the round and apart from a couple nice Edgar counter-right hands all the effective offence came from Henderson. At the end of the round Bendo had Frankie in a guillotine choke; Edgar said at the post-fight press conference that he escaped it, but he was saved by the horn.
10-9 Henderson.
Round 2
Henderson came out and knocked Edgar down with a strong leg kick again, but at the halfway point of the round Edgar landed a big right hand on an off-balance Henderson that sent the champ to the mat. Although Henderson wasn’t rocked, that was the most significant strike Edgar landed in the fight. He attempted a guillotine choke but Henderson escaped. Of the ten rounds the two have fought, this was the former champion’s most dominant round by far.
10-9 Edgar.
Round 3
At the beginning of the round Henderson lands a slapping head kick and follows it up with another strong kick up high and a knee-punch combo. Edgar landed a few nice counters in the round but none of the shots had any force behind them. Henderson’s strikes were stronger and backed Edgar up. Edgar used his movement and feints, but he didn’t land many effective shots throughout the round.
10-9 Henderson.
Round 4
Once again the champ came out the aggressor, landing strong kicks and a straight left hand. Edgar got a brief takedown and landed a couple kicks but Henderson landed a head kick as he got out from underneath Edgar. The former champ went for another guillotine choke but Henderson escaped again and once back on the feet Henderson continued to land the harder shots. Bendo did enough in the striking department to erase what Edgar did with a brief takedown and submission attempt.
10-9 Henderson.
Round 5
For the first time in the fight it was Edgar that began the round as the more effective striker. He landed several very nice combinations and was using his movement to get inside and land shots. He got out to an early lead but Henderson really turned it up in the last 90 seconds or so. The champ was the one that landed the best shots of the round but Edgar did land more. This round, like the third and fourth was very close. But a slight edge could go to Edgar for the quality combinations he was landing throughout the round.
10-9 Edgar.
Final scorecard 48-47 Henderson.
If some people, including the one judge that scored the bout for Edgar, saw this fight 49-46 for the former champ, one could just as easily score it 49-46 for Henderson. The last three rounds were that close.
People will be talking about this fight for a long time but ultimately it will be a waste of time and energy. Maybe one day we’ll see Bendo-Edgar 3, but for now the right decision was made.
The silver lining to all of this is we can move on and look forward to Henderson’s next title defence against Nate Diaz, which should take place late in 2012. That has Fight of the Year written all over it.
POLL:
How did you score the UFC 150 main event?
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