By TXMMA Staff | Photo by Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Anthony Pettis makes it 2-0 against Benson Henderson; Captures UFC lightweight title in the process
MILWAUKEE, WI, September 1, 2013 – It was a thrilling night of action punctuated by a quicker-than-expected win in the main event at UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis 2 this past weekend in Milwaukee and “Showtime” Anthony Pettis came out the winner in his hometown.
Facing Benson Henderson for the second time in his career, Anthony Pettis would finally challenge for a UFC belt in this one, an honor he was supposed to receive upon entering the UFC as WEC’s outgoing 155 lbs. champion back after defeating Benson Henderson in December 2010. His luck was bad then and he was put on the back burner as a result of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard trilogy that just wouldn’t end but after four straight wins he finally climbed his way back to the shot and he would take advantage.
Pettis soundly defeated Henderson by first round armbar, taking the belt from Henderson for this second time in his career and becoming the new UFC lightweight champion. On top of that he gained a submission of the night bonus for his efforts to go along with the gold. Not a bad take for someone who’s been waiting a long time for such an opportunity.
He might get another in short order should the UFC decide to pair him up with 145 lbs. champ Jose Aldo, the fighter he was supposed to face originally for that other belt back at UFC 163.
Josh Barnett beats Frank Mir in clash of longtime heavyweight veterans
In other UFC 164 action, the highly anticipated heavyweight bout between “Warmaster” Josh Barnett and former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir ended quickly in just under two minutes of the first round.
Returning to the UFC after an 11 year absence following being stripped of the heavyweight title due to a failed drug test Barnett bullied Mir for much of this bout, pinning him up against the fence and drilling him from short distance with knees and uppercuts before dropping him with a strong knee to the head for the flash KO. Barnett would follow him down to finish the fight but the ref decided to stop him from further damage in this one.
With this win Josh Barnett now reestablishes himself in the top 10 of the UFC pecking order and should be looking to get another tough fight in his next one as he continues climbing the ladder of contention. Meanwhile Frank Mir has lost his third straight and is quickly fading into gatekeeper status so look for him to take on one of the UFC’s young guns next.
Mendes, Rothwell, Poirier win to round out the UFC 164 PPV Results
In other UFC 164 heavyweight action it was Ben Rothwell who came out on top, spoiling the heavyweight comeback attempt by Brandon Vera. The two started off with the bigger man (Rothwell) chasing Vera around while the smaller man looked to counter with counter shots from the outside. That was the theme for most of the fight until the two finally met in the middle in the third round with results ending badly for Vega after taking some solid uppercuts and hooks, forcing the TKO stoppage at !:54 of round three.
Meanwhile at bantamweight Chad Mendes cemented his case for #1 contender status at featherweight with his fourth straight win, this time over Clay Guida. Even more impressive is the fact that he became the first man ever to finish Guida by TKO with this fight ending in the third. No word on when he might get his title shot but the wait might be long with champion Jose Aldo already being positioned against Anthony Pettis, not to mention that Aldo already finished the Team Alpha Male star in their first fight back in January 2012.
Last but not least on the main card was a rousing win by nearby Louisiana native Dustin Poirier. The Tim Credeur developed product recently made the move to American Top Team in order to better acclimate himself to consistent UFC-caliber training and it showed in this one with “Diamond” defeating top ten opponent Erik Koch. Poirier started the fight off strong from the get-go, putting Koch on his heels and then on his butt. To his credit, Erik shwoed a good guard and almost put Poirier to sleep with a triangle choke that was narrowly escaped in the first – one of the more exciting rounds of the entire evening. It was again Dustin’s round in the second as he won it witha few good takedowns for the 10-9 score. Koch pulled strong in the third round but was unable to come close to finishing before the final bell ended with Dustin winning on all three judges’ scorecards.
Here are all the UFC 164 results including prelim action below.
Complete UFC 164 Results from August 31, 2013
UFC 164 Main Card Results (PPV)
Anthony Pettis over Benson Henderson by verbal submission (armbar) – RD 1, 4:31
Josh Barnett over Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:56
Chad Mendes over Clay Guida TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:30
Ben Rothwell over Brandon Vera by TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:54
Dustin Poirier over Erik Koch by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
UFC 164 Prelim Results (FOX Sports 1)
Gleison Tibau over Jamie Varner by split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
Tim Elliott over Louis Gaudinot by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Hyun Gyu Lim over Pascal Krauss by TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:58
Chico Camus over Kyung Ho Kang by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC 164 Prelim Results (Facebook)
Soa Palelei over Nikita Krylov by TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:34
Al Iaquinta over Ryan Couture by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magnus Cedenblad over Jared Hamman by submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:57