Let’s not mess around here, UFC on Fox 5: Henderson v Diaz is the best card the UFC has put on this year.
Not only is it headed by a championship fight in the UFC’s deepest, most exciting division, it includes two other fights with large title implications, both of which could have also headlined the card.
Any criticism about the UFC not putting big enough fights on free-to-air evaporates this weekend. So if you watch one fight card this year, make it this one.
Here is why.
Benson Henderson (19-2) v Nathan Diaz (16-7)
Getting top billing on the card is a battle for the lightweight championship between Ben Henderson and Nate Diaz and it will be an absolute barn-burner. Every time Diaz steps in the cage he is ready to punch a hole through his opponent and while Henderson may not finish all that many off, he has never been in a boring fight.
More importantly though it is Henderson’s first defence of the lightweight title he won against Frankie Edgar earlier this year. Henderson has the kind of all-round athletic package that could see him stay at the top of the UFC’s deepest division for a long time.
It took a kick from Anthony Pettis that would have been more at home in The Matrix than the Octagon to dislodge him from the WEC title before it merged with the UFC in 2010 and he looked completely at home at the championship level against Edgar.
However, his first defence is an awkward proposition; Diaz is lanky and has learnt well how to use his reach advantage to keep his opposition out of range. On top of this he is dynamite off his back while on the ground, having scored 11 of his 16 victories by submission.
Furthermore, as the younger brother of Nick Diaz, he is officially the second most unhinged guy in a sport full of crazies. Stepping in the octagon with Diaz is a mental examination that has had some fighters beaten before the bell even rings.
Both these guys have the potential to become massive stars and will relish the chance to put on a show on the sport’s biggest stage.
B.J. Penn (16-8) v Rory MacDonald (14-1)
When people say Rory MacDonald is a future welterweight champion they aren’t kidding around. At only 23 he has shown the skills and maturity of an octagon veteran. He literally threw Nate Diaz around the cage at UFC129 and came within seven seconds of beating former welterweight interim champion Carlos Condit before that.
The man he faces off against this weekend, B.J. Penn, needs no introduction; he’s one of only two fighters to have held UFC titles at two different weight classes and is arguably the UFC’s greatest lightweight champion.
If ever there was a case of the old lion squaring off against the young up and comer it is here, but there is more to this fight than this classic stand-off.
On face value MacDonald would appear to have the slight upper hand, he has built his victories off his excellent wrestling base and ability to control his opponents. Despite his outstanding jujitsu skills, Penn has never enjoyed facing off against bigger fighters who have the strength and technique to push him around.
However Penn is back after a year of soul searching which followed some less than stellar performances and claims to have rediscovered his love for fighting. The last time Penn was truly motivated he ripped a hole through the lightweight division like no other fighter has managed since, utterly dominating the likes of Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk and Diego Sanchez.
If Penn is telling the truth here, MacDonald may have his hands full despite his obvious size advantage.
Both men go into this one with things to prove and the reward is a tantalising one. A big performance from either of these men will put them just behind Johnny Hendricks at the top of the division and close to a title shot.
Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua (21-6) v Alex Gustaffson (14-1)
Much like the Penn-MacDonald match-up this one sees Rua, a man who has been at the top of the card for years, facing off against an ambitious young gun in Gustaffson.
Even putting that intrigue aside this scrap shapes as a crowd pleaser, Rua has been in countless memorable slugfests and Gustaffason has won over 60% of his matches by stoppage. Both these fighters are at their best when they are aggressive and look to finish their opponent.
In other words, this may end with both fighters swinging for the fences.
This fight is a step up for the Swed but a win here could be the catalyst for a changing of the guard in the lightweight division. Last year Jon Jones stormed the castle previously reserved for the likes of Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and also Shogun; with a win, Gustaffson will follow suit and place himself very close to a shot at Jones’s light-heavyweight belt.
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