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November - 2014
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
8
ute with relative unknown
Joe Soto. It was a devastat-
ing blow to an already strug-
gling PPV event.
Recently, the California
State Athletic Commission
proposed guideline chang-
es to how weight cuts are
handled, including testing
fighter’s urine to measure
hydration and performing
caliper measurements well
before a fighter is licensed,
which would set a minimum
weight a fighter could com-
pete at. Same-day weigh-
ins were also mused. The
proposals, first mentioned
by CSAC head Andy Foster
on UFC Central radio, are
far from official, and could
change — but it’s clear that
weight cutting is going to
become this year’s hot but-
ton issue.
As a result, there’s no time
like the present for a fighter
to go up, or, more accurately
for many, to fight at their
natural weight. Which brings
us back to Benson Hender-
son, a larger lightweight by
any stretch of the imagina-
tion. There was talk almost
from the moment Hender-
son first won the 155lb title
that he could jump up to
welterweight; it seemed like
only a matter of time. As
fighters age, most find the
weight cut more and more
difficult. With his size, he
could be a legitimate threat.
A superfight with GSP was
whispered about, though
Dana White was not keen
on the idea. Then came the
loss to Pettis, and Hender-
son wound up working his
way back up the lightweight
ranks, only to be derailed by
Rafael dos Anjos.
There are a number of oth-
er factors pointing towards
a Henderson move up to
welterweight: coming off
the loss against dos Anjos,
Henderson is out of the ti-
tle picture for the first time
in years. He has lost to cur-
rent champ Anthony Pettis
twice (including their leg-
endary WEC match), has
fought most of the other
relevant combatants in the
division, and even were chal-
lenger Gilbert Melendez to
defeat Pettis in December,
is anyone really chomping
at the bit to see Henderson
vs. Melendez 2? Their first
fight saw Henderson taking
a close decision, and while it
was a good fight, their po-
tential rematch just doesn’t
seem to be one that really
captures the imaginations of
fight fans. Donald Cerrone is
facing the undefeated Myles
Jury the very same month,
and the winner of that has
more of a fresh feel as far as
title fights at lightweight go.
Beyond that, there’s Khabib
Nurmagomedov in the con-
versation, and the man who
defeated Smooth, dos An-
jos, who is on a two-fight
win streak and matched up
with Nate Diaz in December.
Meanwhile, at welterweight,
the division is wide open,
meaning the terrain is fa-
vourable towards an insur-
rection by someone like
Henderson, who could come
up and make a quick splash
with a win or two. Fans are
always hungry for a serving
of meaning when it comes
to big fights: why should
they care? Beyond just see-
ing who is best, what’s the
story behind the match-up?
Working towards joining the
very select club of multiple
weight class champions pro-
vides a ready-made story and
gives fans a reason to tune
in. With no pun intended,
a move up to welterweight,
if successful, makes Benson
Henderson a much bigger
star.
Timing is everything, how-
ever. Win or lose (and more
preferably, win), Henderson
needs a solid effort against
Alvarez if it is to be his final
fight at lightweight. And
if he can do that, then he
needs to strike while the iron
is hot, and ride some mo-
mentum up into the welter-
weight division.