UFC on Fox 5 Henderson vs Diaz: The aftermath

In five years time we may well look back at UFC on Fox 5 as a watershed moment for the new guard of UFC fighters coming through; a moment these men asserted themselves as a force at championship level.

It is a big call, especially after Benson Henderson’s dominant performance in the main event; defending his lightweight championship against Nate Diaz, who did everything within his power to get inside Hendo’s mind, including flipping him the bird mid-fight.

However the big take away from the card was that this young wave of fighters, headed yesterday by Rory MacDonald and Alexander Gustaffason, are here and they are coming after the sport’s legends.

In performances which will have put the rest of the locker room on notice (if they weren’t already) both were pitted up against men considered greats of the sport and both came out looking skilled, hungry and ready to topple the sport’s status quo as Jon Jones began to do last year.

First off the block is Rory MacDonald, who punished BJ Penn with technical striking, including numerous brutal body shots which left the former welterweight and lightweight champ gasping for air.

MacDonald, who was roundly booed by the pro-BJ, Seattle crowd, also dominated in the clinch, pushing Penn up against the cage and working him over in a manner reminiscent of George St-Pierre at UFC 94.

As is so often the case the fighter’s faces told the story at the end of the fight; BJ was bloody, bruised and swollen whereas the worst Rory had to deal with was an errant strand of hair that kept falling across the front of his face.

MacDonald finished the night calling out Carlos Condit but if he turns in more performances like yesterday’s he may well have a bigger fish to fry by the end of next year, with a matchup against current team mate GSP looming large in his near future.

For BJ, it is clearer now more than ever that he cannot stay at welterweight where his opponents are just too big for him to handle.

Even at lightweight, a place he dominated for years, the pack has now caught up with him.

Except for sporadically adding small amounts of cardio, he has not developed his game since the mid 00’s and as we saw yesterday, this new group of MMA fighters that grew up watching BJ fight, posses far more dynamic skill levels than the ones BJ beat down throughout his career.

A lot of the same superlatives can be said for Alex Gustaffason’s performance against Pride Grand Prix winner and former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.

While he wasn’t quite as dominant as MacDonald and had to take a bit of punishment on the way to his decision victory, he still looked stronger, more dynamic and far more motivated than the former champ.

Gustaffason may well have benefitted from an under prepared Shogun who didn’t have any discernible game plan except fishing for the big one punch knockout. However that is not to condemn the Swede who showed off a varied array of strikes and also managed to match Shogun in the clinch, a place many have not found so accommodating.

Gustaffason now moves on to face the winner of Chael Sonnen v Jon Jones, or to put it more accurately he will go on to fight Jon Jones for the light-heavyweight title next year.

Physically this matchup is an interesting one as the lanky Sweede can match Jones’ long reach like few other in the division can. However he will have to improve on his standup to match Jones, he took some big shots during the fight and the current Champ hits harder than even Shogun.

For now though we have been left with a card soaked with the indelible stamp of a rising generation. Fighters who have been training in MMA since day one and poses the power, skills and hunger to reach up to the lofty heights of the current stars, tear them out of their cushy positions and ultimately replace them.