Henderson vs. Thomson

This is the official discussion thread for Henderson vs. Thomson. Let's see what you've got.

another bad decision

Jesus will blackmail the judges again.

Ben is too smooth..........................explosive athleticism.

I think I'll just leave this right here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1913833-benson-henderson-the-ufcs-best-forgotten-fighter

Benson Henderson is an amazing fighter, there is absolutely no doubt about that.

But he's still the worst champion in the history of the modern UFC.

@Outrageous @mulefloyd Yeah I also think it will be close, Benson via illuminati decision...

@Anik If you consider "modern UFC era" to be since it was bought by Zuffa, I would disagree, but I'll let you tell me what you define as the modern UFC era. 

I would likely be in agreement if you defined this modern era as beginning when DJ won the FLW belt.

I personally think Thomson is an awful match up for Benson and is going to beat him down. I think Thomson is the most underrated light weight in the UFC. I think his striking is on another level then Benson and he can keep the fight standing.

so Trae won't rock a pink penis. He could wear it proudly in the chat room.

I'm surprised this few people are picking Thomson. I really think he has a chance.

Thomson a cardio machine, so I don't really understand why you think he would magically lose his cardio in fight with bendo. He was powerful enough to stop Nate Diaz a man who never been finished via strikes before and he faced welter weights like Rory.  Also the show time kick was not even that powerful, he throw much more powerful strong body kicks to bendoin the second fight then show time kick was. The Show time kick was effective more so due to Bendo having no idea it was coming, not because it was massively powerful. 

* Edited at 01.07.2014, 6:46 PM ET *

This is ironic, because your actually the one straw manning me. My entire point of my arguement was based mostly on the fact Thomson has enough power to put bendo away and that show time kick is not as powerful as your suggesting. However you instead focus on a single sentence of my post and ignore the rest. Common man really, you have the nerve to say I am the one straw manning?

I think Thomson going to win because he has significant striking edge. He has very good take down defenses and is very capable of stuffing Bendo.  He extremely good at grappling from all positions including his back. Bendo top control has always been weak, out side of Nate Diaz fight, he has never shown ability to keep high level fighters on there back for significant period of time. He has less technical striking skills, power and there a dam good chance this fight stays the majority standing where Thomson will hold and advantage. 

Not worth it. I get it I exaggerated your part about the cardio. It irrelevant to this fight stop focusing on the most irrelevant aspect of the fight and singe line of my post while almost completely ignoring the major points such as the insane idea that thomson can't generate enough power to TKO/or KO bendo or the fact this fight will almost exclusively take place on the feet out side of some brief moments on the ground because Bendo does not have the take downs/ top control to keep this fight on the ground.

Also the head kick Thomson landed on Nate was so powerful that it put a knot in his leg. It was a more powerful kick then the show time kick. The Show time kick is the most impressive thing I have ever seen in MMA, but do not kid your self that was not more powerful then thomson can produce. A planted head kick is more powerful then a kick while you are in midair like that. He landed it with power to be sure, but not the type of power your suggesting.

* Edited at 01.07.2014, 10:47 PM ET *

@zarog When I say the modern era, I'm defining it as from the original Ultimate Fighter Finale to...hm...maybe up to the beginning of Jon Jones' title run I would say, or maybe the retirement of Brock Lesnar. One or the other works.

Benson Henderson was not a good champion, which is a shame considering the amount of FOX exposure he received.

@Anik Lol. First of all, Henderson's championship reign wouldn't have started in the "modern era" as you're defining, but I'm willing to roll with it as the champs of today are better than the champs of yesteryear on the whole. We'll go from TUF 1 Finale (April 09, 2005) to Brock's last fight (Dec. 30, 2011), primarily because Henderson didn't win the title until after Jones' 2nd title defense.

Here are some of the champs worse than Henderson:
Tim Sylvia (April 2006-March 2007)
Forrest Griffin (July '08-Dec '08)
Matt Serra (April '07-Dec '07)

Others are arguable. Henderson was a good champion, but he did not dominate his weight class the way GSP, Silva, Johnson, Barao, Aldo, Jones, and Velasquez have. In part, that is likely due to the depth at LW in comparison to any of the other weight classes, particularly FLW, MW, LHW, and HW. When there is a dearth of good opponents it's much easier to be a dominant champion. I'll agree that Henderson is not as skilled (at least not on the feet) as many of the current champions, but as per your definition, I see no decent argument as to how Benson Henderson was the worst modern champion.