UFC 129 Results: Five Opponents that Lightweight Ben Henderson Should Fight Next
Former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson rebounded from his loss last December to defeat lightweight contender Mark Bocek at UFC 129.
He bloodied the Canadian with vicious elbows and knees over three rounds to win a competitive three-round unanimous decision. The scorecards read 30-27 across the board.
Henderson is underrated by many fans, and it is unwarranted, as he demonstrated this evening. As he continues to rise in the most stacked division in the sport, the 27-year-old has a lot of work to do before he gets his UFC title shot and a chance at redemption.
These are five opponents he should consider fighting next.
No. 5 Gleison Tibau (22-7)
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Gleison Tibau may be the biggest lightweight in the UFC, and he is also one of the most strongest.
If Henderson has any plans of defeating the strong wrestlers that sit at the top of the division, he may need a warmup, and this is the guy to give him.
Tibau is 8-5 inside the Octagon and has defeated the likes of Kurt Pellegrino, Terry Etim, Jeremy Stephens, Caul Uno and Josh Neer.
His only losses have been to some of the best fighters in the world, and he always brings a challenge to each of his opponents.
This would make a great co-main event on a Spike TV card or a main card bout on a PPV.
No. 4 Takanori Gomi (32-7-1)
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Japanese fighter Takanori Gomi is in a dire need of a win, and there's no point in putting him against opponents that aren't too much of a challenge for him. At this point in his career, he's either going to have success in the UFC or he's not.
Since he's coming off a loss to Clay Guida, Gomi would have trouble in determining how to go about fighting an opponent that is just as good or better at snatching up chokes, which Henderson used to defeat Donald Cerrone.
Gomi always has the chance to land one big shot, and that would be good enough to warrant a fight between the two.
No. 3 Winner of Jonathan Brookins vs. Jeremy Stephens
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Ultimate Fighter Season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins is a quick rising prospect in the lightweight division. His opponent, Jeremy Stephens, is coming off a third round come from behind KO over experience boxer and MMA fighter Marcus Davis.
The two lightweights will meet in the co-main event of The Ultimate Fighter Finale on June 4th.
Brookins is on a four-fight win streak since losing to Jose Aldo in the WEC. Stephens is 3-1 in his last four bouts with wins over Davis, Sam Stout and Justin Bucholz.
The hardest fight between the two would most likely be against Brookins, who is an experienced wrestler with eight submission wins in 15 bouts.
A fight with Stephens would be competitive, but he is not as seasoned of a wrestler as Henderson.
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No. 2 Loser of Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida
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In the upcoming June 4 matchup between Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis, future title shots will be on the line.
Pettis opened up the eyes of a lot of fans in his last WEC fight versus Ben Henderson, which he won the WEC lightweight title for. It was supposed to guarantee him a title fight in the UFC, but Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard still haven't settled their differences.
Guida submitted his last opponent, Takanori Gomi, in the second round of their UFC 125 bout. It was the third win in a row for "The Carpenter."
Whoever loses this fight will be a worthy opponent for the fighter known as "Smooth." A rematch with Pettis is something Henderson wants after their competitive battle last year, and a fight with Guida could be the best fight between the two wildest hairstyles in MMA.
No. 1 Sean Sherk (36-4-1)
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A lightweight matchup between the former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and Henderson would be an epic war with two very determined fighters.
This is the toughest fight for Henderson to book after coming off his first UFC victory, but it may also be the biggest step he could take in his quest to obtain the UFC belt.
Sherk hasn't fought since September, 2010, but he put on a "Fight of the Night" performance against up-and-comer Evan Dunham and won a split-decision. What made that fight impressive was the fact that he was coming off another long layoff before.
Sherk's only defeats are too fighters who are current or former UFC champions.
We all know how good Sherk's submission defense is, but Henderson has seven wins by various chokes, and it would be intriguing to see if he could pull one off on the "Muscle Shark."
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