Frankie Gets Screwed Again

UFC 150: "The Answer" is Wrong

I was so pissed I had to write a little about this tonight. In what will likely go down in the history books as one of the worst judge's decisions in UFC history, Ben Henderson retained his Lightweight Championship against Frankie Edgar at UFC 150. I'll give you a brief breakdown of how I would judge each round along with statistical information from fightmetric.com....

Round 1

Henderson clearly won this round. He landed several brutal leg shots, which I felt was a great strategy for the champion. If he took away Frankie's legs than he would lose his speed, which is one of his biggest advantages. When Edgar went for a takedown Henderson locked on a guillotine for the last 15 seconds of the round. Henderson out-struck Edgar 12-7.

10-9 Henderson

Round 2

This was clearly Frankie's biggest round. Edgar dropped Bendo with a big right hand, and took control on the ground for around a minute. Edgar avoided Henderson's takedown and landed another punch before the end of the round. Frankie outstruck Bendo 12-9 and won this round easily.

10-9 Edgar (19-19)

Round 3

The third round was as close a round that there is in MMA. Both guys exchanged, but there really weren't any significant strikes. Even though he was out-struck 15-13 Let's play Devils Advocate and give Bendo the round since he is the defending champion and it was a very close round.

10-9 Henderson (29-28 Henderson)

Round 4

Frankie began to get into a rhythm in the Championship rounds. He looked much more aggressive, landing a solid leg kick and following it up with a takedown. Edgar got Bendo into a headlock and was looking for a submission. Frankie got the better of the exchanges as the round wound down. They were even with 17 strikes a piece, but Frankie's takedown secured the round for him.

10-9 Edgar (38-38)

Round 5

I had the fight even going into the fifth and decisive round. Henderson again came out a little lackadaisical and showed no signs of urgency. Frankie was counterpunching really well here. Edgar once again landed more strikes, this time out-striking Henderson 19-14.

10-9 Edgar

I had the fight 48-47 and a new Champion Frankie Edgar. Tony Weeks scored the fight 49-46 for Edgar, giving him every round but the first. Judge's Dave Hagen and Mark Van Tine scored the fight 48-47 for Henderson giving him rounds 1, 3, and 4. I agree with giving Bendo rounds 1 and 3, but if their strikes were even, and Frankie secured a takedown, how does Henderson win round 4?

Aftermath

This bad decision could really hurt Frankie Edgar's career. It is his second "loss" to the current Lightweight Champion, and now he is in the back of the line in a top-heavy division. Nate Diaz was guaranteed to get the next shot at Henderson. Anthony Pettis (who was promised a shot for almost 2 years) and Donald Cerrone (after his big win tonight) should fight to be the new #1 Contender. That leaves Frankie lumped in with Joe Lauzon, Gray Maynard, Clay Guida, and Jim Miller as they round out the top contenders.

In my opinion, as long as Henderson is still champion it is almost impossible to give Edgar a third fight. No matter how bad the decision is, if you lose to a guy twice you shouldn't get a third chance. That being said, Frankie is probably going to need to win at least 2 fights (more likely 3) to even get another chance at a title fight (even if Henderson loses the strap).

Another option Frankie has is to move to Bantamweight . Dana White has been begging him to move down to the 145 lb division (because Jose Aldo is running out of credible opponents). Aside from Aldo and Mendes, Frankie would have a hard time being challenged by anyone else in that weight class. 

Instead of being a two-time champion, "The Answer" leaves Denver as a two-time loser, and his career now has come to a fork in the road. A lot of questions need to be answered both by Frankie Edgar and Zuffa. Another controversial decision is the last thing anyone wanted tonight.