By Brian Mazique
Win or lose on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 60 in Broomfield, Colorado, Benson "Smooth" Henderson is an absolute warrior. The former lightweight champion is making a rather hasty jump up to 170 pounds to face one of the most dangerous and explosive young fighters in the division in Brandon "Rukus" Thatch.
Originally, the main event was supposed to pit Tarec Saffiedine against the exciting Matt Brown. Saffiedine withdrew due to an injury. The first replacement for that spoiled main event was Thatch taking on the exciting Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, but the latter also withdrew because of an injury.
The ever-ready Henderson stepped in and up in weight to face Thatch in what could be an epic and interesting clash. Here's how you can watch the entire event, as well my prediction for every fight on the card.
Fox Sports 1 Main Card at 10 p.m. ET
Benson Henderson vs. Brandon Thatch
Welterweight Thatch by TKO
Both Henderson and Thatch are hungry for success and Colorado natives. Thus, the crowd should be intense and the action fierce in this ever-changing main event.
Henderson has lost his last two fights, but both defeats came against elite fighters and under controversial circumstances. In Aug. 2014, Henderson was defeated via TKO by Rafael dos Anjos. Henderson was undoubtedly hurt by the right hand dos Anjos landed in the first round of their bout, but it appeared referee John McCarthy might have stepped in prematurely to stop the bout.
Most recently—like less than a month ago—Henderson dropped a unanimous decision to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone on Jan. 18 at UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston. I scored the bout for Henderson, but all three judges scored it 29-28 for Cerrone.
It was a tough pill to swallow for the proud Henderson, but with two straight losses in the very competitive 155-pound division—and two defeats to current champion Anthony "Showtime" Pettis—Henderson's chances of getting a title shot at 155 anytime soon seem bleak.
Because of that, a move to 170 pounds makes more sense than it might seem at first glance. Still, per Damon Martin of FoxSports.com, Henderson says he doesn't plan on staying at 170 pounds permanently. Henderson told Martin:
We don't think of it as a permanent move. There are some other matchups at 170 that are pretty intriguing to us, so if the right matchups come along, we'd still be open to going up to 170 again. But as far as staying at 170? Probably not. I'm probably going back down to 155.
Rukus is looking to make his stay at welterweight a very short one. Injuries have kept Thatch out of the Octagon since a TKO victory over Paulo Thiago in Nov. 2013.
Thatch's ability to finish opponents quickly and violently has made him one of the brightest young stars in the sport. He'll clearly have a size advantage over Henderson in this bout. His length and quickness should be enough to curtail any edge in speed the naturally smaller Henderson might enjoy.
The only chance Henderson has to win this fight is to take it to the mat, but Thatch's striking is simply too good, and that will lead to a second-round TKO for the fast-rising 29-year-old.
Max "Blessed" Holloway was supposed to have already made his mark in the featherweight division, but tough losses to three of the division's best (Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Dennis Bermudez) served as a detour to stardom.
Recently, Holloway has gotten back on track with with four straight wins, all finishes. On Saturday, in the co-featured bout, Holloway will take another step toward the Top 10 when he faces Cole Miller.
When it comes to speed and striking, there's no question Holloway has a clear edge over Miller. He's quicker and more accurate, per FightMetric (42 percent to 34 percent).
Look for Blessed to pick Miller apart in the stand-up game and to thwart attempts to take him down en route to a third-round TKO victory. Holloway will fight for a world title one day. The early losses were a setback, but at 23 years old, he still has plenty of time to make a significant move up the 145-pound ladder.
The advantage that Neil Magny has over most foes is the same one he'll enjoy when he faces Kiichi Kunimoto on Saturday night. Magny's 80" reach is an extraordinary weapon for any welterweight.
His length should allow him to keep Kunimoto on the end of his jab and leg kicks throughout his bout. Kunimoto is a submission expert who must get the fight to the ground to topple Magny.
Surely Magny knows that, and he will protect against the takedown. In his UFC career, Magny has stopped 70 percent of the takedowns attempted against him. That skill and his length will lead to a unanimous-decision win.
