UFC 144: Frankie Edgar vs Ben Henderson Early Breakdown

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UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar makes his fourth title defense against lightweight contender Benson Henderson when the UFC travels to Japan to host UFC 144 on February 25, 2012. 

Both competitors have established themselves as respective standouts in the 155-pound division and will now look to determine the best lightweight on the planet. 

Edgar has looked nothing short of spectacular in each of his title bouts against BJ Penn and Gray Maynard, while Henderson has dominated his opposition in the process. 

In anticipation of their lightweight encounter, we'll break down the bout and predict which man will walk away with the title around their waist. 

Here is an early breakdown of Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson.

1. Striking

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Edgar possess some of the finest and most technical boxing in the sport today, displaying crisp combinations and accurate striking. He has outstruck some of the best strikers, including BJ Penn and Tyson Griffin.

Part of what makes him such an efficient striker is his speed and footwork, allowing him to move in and out of the pocket and utilizing angles and setting up combinations with proper timing and accuracy. 

Henderson's striking has come a long way since his days in the WEC and he has displayed some of the best striking in the division. Despite Henderson's frantic pace and aggressive style, he still manages to utilize technique and knockout power in his hands. 

While Henderson is known to push the pace throughout the duration of the bout, Edgar still holds the speed and accuracy in his strikes in order for him to land more effectively. Henderson might be the one fighter to compete with Edgar and serve as a potential threat on the feet, however.

Edgar is an efficient striker who has the ability to set up more combinations from a further distance, and Henderson implements a more well-rounded, dynamic offense which can push the pace on his opponent.

Advantage: Draw.

2. Wrestling

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Both Edgar and Henderson display some of the best wrestling at 155 pounds and have shown the ability to out-wrestle some of the best wrestlers throughout their careers. 

In his trilogy against Maynard, Edgar utilized strong wrestling ability and was able to take down and control his opponent. Despite having a smaller stature, Edgar was still able to gain good positional control on Maynard and pass his guard on multiple occasions. 

One of Henderson's biggest strengths has been his grappling ability. Henderson has an excellent ability to overwhelm his opponents in the clinch and utilize his strength to overpower his opponents and bring them to the canvas. Henderson also implements wrestling into his offense as he uses his striking to set up his wrestling and shoot for a take down.

Although Edgar possesses good wrestling ability, Henderson has shown to dominate his opponents and out-wrestle them to the ground. Using technique and strength, Henderson has the ability to gain good positional control and overwhelm his opponents.

It's unquestionable that Henderson is the superior wrestler.

Advantage: Henderson.

3. Submissions

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Edgar has not utilized his submission skills as often due to his preference to keep the bout on the feet. However, he has demonstrated the ability to secure submissions if he is in the proper position to execute them. 

Out of his 14 career victories, three of those wins have come via submission. Edgar's last submission win was two years ago at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale against Matt Veach.

Henderson demonstrates some of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the sport, recording eight submission victories throughout his career.

Henderson's superior control and grappling ability overwhelms and fatigues his opponents in order to find an opening and secure a submission. He also has outstanding submission defense and very good scrambling technique to prevent himself from getting into a vulnerable position. 

Ultimately, Henderson's size, experience and technique give him a significant advantage over Edgar. 

Advantage: Henderson. 

4. Intangibles

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Both fighters don't come from some of the most recognizable camps in mixed martial arts, but Edgar and Henderson are certainly two of the most decorated athletes in the sport today. 

Edgar trains out of Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu in New Jersey, while Henderson trains with MMA Lab.

Both fighters employ excellent strategies and game plans in preparation for their respective bouts and display tremendous work ethic and heart in their bouts as well. 

Edgar and Henderson have had successful careers thus far and will look to continue establishing their careers by putting on an exciting performance at UFC 144. 

Advantage: Draw.

5. Conclusion

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Henderson presents a huge threat to Edgar's title reign and brings a different set of problems unlike any of the champion's past opponents, stylistically. 

Henderson's striking remains consistently good and he possesses knockout power and technique to compete and dominate Edgar with his dynamic offense. Edgar is very good at picking his shots and utilizing his angles to throw combinations, but look for Henderson to neutralize Edgar's striking with his pace and aggression to outwork him and look for openings. 

Henderson's size and superior grappling ability should also help the former WEC lightweight champion dictate the pace and successfully complete take downs on Edgar.

Edgar is the much smaller fighter in this bout and Henderson will likely want to impose his size on his opponent and keep him on the ground to work from a dominant position to attempt a submission. Henderson's ground game is outstanding and he'll likely want to utilize his ground skills as much as possible to drain Edgar's cardio.  

Henderson's size and grappling skills will be the keys to beating Edgar and neutralizing his biggest strengths: striking and speed. Neutralizing Edgar's strength will ultimately wear down the champion and allow Henderson to drag him into the championship rounds and finish him via submission.

Prediction: Henderson by fourth-round submission.