Impossible To Submit: Ben Henderson Proves To Be MMA Escape Artist

Ben Henderson could have taken the easy way out.

He could have tapped when Donald Cerrone locked in a guillotine choke in the first round, or he could have quit when Cerrone cinched in another guillotine in the fourth. Finally, Henderson could easily have submitted in the fifth round when he was caught in a shock-inducing shoulder lock.

None of that happened.

Henderson pulled off one of the greatest Harry Houdini imitations in MMA history by escaping submission after submission for five intense rounds to defeat Cerrone for the WEC interim lightweight championship. His performance was one that will not soon be forgotten.

To his credit, Henderson stated that he was never in serious danger.

“I wasn’t close to tapping,” Henderson said after watching video of the fight. “They looked pretty gnarly, but I was far from tapping to be honest.”

What looked to be impossible situations were no problem for the unbelievably agile Henderson. He offers a simple explanation for his uncanny ability to survive.

“I think I’m naturally flexible,” said Henderson. “My limits are further than most people’s limits. My threshold for pain might be a little higher and all of that is on top of the fact that I did the right defense. I did the right technique when I was supposed to. He didn’t have me in any holds I hadn’t been in.”

Even though Henderson got the win, the victory was not without controversy. Henderson won by a razor thin margin of 48-47 on all three judges scorecards. The decision sparked debate over whether the current style of judging needs to be re-examined.

Presently, match-ups are scored as if each round is an individual fight. Therefore, the Henderson-Cerrone classic was basically scored as five separate bouts in which Henderson won three to Cerrone’s two. In Japan, the scoring system is much different. The winner is determined by who wins the entire fight regardless of the rounds. Also, special emphasis is given to a fighter that comes closest to finishing a fight.

Given those parameters, Cerrone would likely have won the interim championship. Cerrone had Henderson in very difficult spots throughout the fight. However, Henderson was able to dominate most of rounds two and three with his wrestling skills, but Henderson was never close to finishing Cerrone. Henderson barely snatched the first round, which turned out to be deciding factor.

Regardless, Henderson agrees with the judges’ decision.

“I thought I won rounds one, two and three but lost four and five.”

Cerrone also agreed that the judges were correct.

“I think (Henderson) won the fight,” Cerrone said shortly after losing his second title bout. “Some people will say it might have gone the other way, but he definitely won the fight.”

Even though Henderson never quit against Cerrone, he has tapped out before – sort of.

“I do get tapped out in practice,” Henderson said. “It doesn’t happen very frequently, but it does happen – especially when I go against my instructor John Crouch. He learned from the Gracies, and he puts the squeeze on me.”

Henderson’s survival and subsequent win made the fight an instant classic. The new WEC interim champion was somewhat taken aback by all the praise it received.

“I wasn’t quite sure about ‘fight of the year’ accolades or of it being the best fight in WEC history, but then I heard it from the media and I was pretty surprised,” Henderson said, “but it was the best fight I was ever in.”

However, all the news was not perfect for Henderson. Ratings for the fight were down considerably from the previous Versus broadcast. The Cerrone vs. Henderson match-up drew 419,000 viewers while WEC 42, which featured Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles, registered 617.000 viewers. That’s a drop off of 198,000 people or 32 percent.

“I was kind of sad that viewership was down,” Henderson said. “I can control how I do in the fight, but I can’t control how many people tune in. I would like to be a crowd favorite like BJ Penn or (Georges) St. Pierre.”

Not only does Henderson wanted to be as popular as Penn and St. Pierre, he eventually wants to be viewed in the same class as the two UFC champions.

“I have one career goal,” Henderson said when talking about his future. “I want to be the best pound for pound fighter on the planet.”

In order to ascend to that lofty status, Henderson has a substantial way to go. Defeating Cerrone was the first step, and the next is already clear. He’ll have to remove the interim tag from his WEC lightweight championship and defeat returning WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner.

Varner has been out of action for most of 2009 since suffering a career-threatening eye injury last January in his fight with Cerrone. The title unification bout is tentatively scheduled for December. Henderson believes the fight will be just as good as the match-up with Cerrone.

"The fight with Jamie Varner will be a barn-burner," Henderson said. "I can promise that."