ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

For what it’s worth, my personal scorecard now has Benson Henderson 1-3 in UFC title fights.

And what it’s worth, of course, is a hill of beans. In the real world, Henderson on Saturday moved to 4-0 in UFC championship bouts, tying BJ Penn’s record of three consecutive lightweight title defenses as he edged Gilbert Melendez via split decision in the main event of UFC on Fox 7.

Like a lot of people, I had Melendez taking it 48-47, thinking he stormed out to an early lead in the first two rounds, lost his momentum in the third and fourth and then rebounded to craft an ever-so-slight advantage in the final stanza. It turned out we were wrong, and the judges allowed Henderson to retain his belt on a wildly eclectic assortment of scorecards.

The crowd booed. Henderson asked his girlfriend to marry him. She said yes. They booed some more, and somewhere in there another fight between the two best lightweights in the world failed to produce a decisive victor.

The decision was not an outrage. The action here was too good and too competitive for anyone besides Melendez to be heartbroken about the outcome. The UFC’s official statistics backed up Henderson’s win and rather than continuing to doom the lightweight title to a series of equally impenetrable rematches, company brass moved quickly to say the champ’s next fight will be against the winner of the Gray Maynard-TJ Grant bout at UFC 160.

That’s fine. No argument. It may not be fair to Melendez, but after years and years of questionable decisions in MMA, we’ve been conditioned to let the close ones go. Really, we have no choice, because the alternative would do nothing but keep us up at night.

Make no mistake, however -- there is a disquieting trend developing in the UFC lightweight division, wherein it’s getting increasingly difficult to tell the winners from the losers. In a sport that places such a premium on tangible consequences and decisive results, that’s sort of a problem.

Saturday’s back-and-forth struggle was just the latest in a spate of 155-pound championship fights that have been exciting, technically exquisite and ultimately impossible to score. Dating to 2010, six of the past eight lightweight title bouts have gone to decision, many of them nail-biters. Three of those produced split verdicts and three times we saw rematches effectively put the rest of the division in limbo while we cleared up messes at the top.

Lightweight has long been regarded as MMA’s most competitive and treacherous division,and this series of ratchet-tight title fights only underscores the point. The parity is a testament to the weight class’ depth, but it also makes answering simple questions like who’s the best? and who should be champion? and even Who won? trickier than it ought to be.

At first we blamed the uncertainty on Frankie Edgar, whose diminutive stature and pesky style seemed scientifically engineered to produce close fights.

Now though, Henderson looks well on his way to establishing a similar rhythm. All seven of his UFC outings have gone the distance, as compared to just two decisions in six earlier bouts in the WEC. Officially, he’s won all seven Octagon appearances, but his pair against Edgar and now this one with Melendez all easily could’ve gone the other way.

That alone makes trying to figure out who is the best lightweight in the world a daunting task.

Henderson’s latest victory obviously means he keeps his belt and likely retains his ESPN.com Power Rankings place as No. 1 in the division and No. 5 pound-for-pound. At 19-2 overall, having matched Penn for most successful title defenses and owning wins over Edgar, Melendez and a host of 155-pound notables, any reasonable debate about who is the greatest lightweight in UFC history now also must include him.

Unless, like me, you scored both Edgar fights and the Melendez bout for the other guy. If that’s the case, then -- yes, like me -- you’ve got a real quandary on your hands.

None of this is to say anything particularly negative about Henderson, mind you. His size, speed, strength and skills still have him looking every bit like the prototype for the next generation of successful UFC lightweights. He’s a great fighter who already has defied the expectations we lowered after watching him drop his WEC title to Anthony Pettis in December 2010 in a fight that came down to yet another very close judges’ decision.

But after this weekend, am I prepared to say Henderson is better than Melendez? I am not.
Am I prepared to say he’s better than Edgar? I am not.

Am I prepared to say he’s better than Pettis or Maynard or Michael Chandler or Eddie Alvarez? No, I am not.

Truthfully, I am not prepared to say much at all about who is tops in the lightweight division right now. I won’t be until someone, anyone, does something other than eke out a controversial decision.

Talent-wise, heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier is second to none. He can compete with and defeat any man willing to step inside the cage with him.

Cormier is that good. He hits hard, has quick hands, is physically powerful, can take it on the chin and to the body, possesses solid defense -- standing or on the ground -- and his wrestling is better any other mixed martial artist in the division.

He is arguably the fighter best suited to dethrone UFC heavyweight titleholder Cain Velasquez, who happens to be his close friend and training partner.

But despite his successful Octagon debut Saturday night in San Jose, Calif. -- a unanimous decision over two-time UFC champ Frank Mir -- it would be in Cormier’s best interest if UFC delayed offering him a title shot.

Cormier, 12-0 as a pro, is not yet ready to fight for the UFC crown. And he would agree with this assessment.

“I’m not happy with my performance,” Cormier said. “Even if [UFC officials] say I’m going to fight Cain Velasquez next, I don’t think this performance warranted a title shot.”

Cormier has been fighting professionally for less than four years. And with so few high-profile bouts under his belt, it is not far-fetched to classify him a newcomer among the elite.

Each training camp has been a crash course, every fight the equivalent of a cram session. But fortunately, the highly intelligent 34-year-old is a very fast learner.

Cormier has a tremendous ability to absorb information, quickly apply what he has learned and make adjustments on the fly. So in the days leading to his UFC debut with Mir, he was confident of remaining unbeaten.

Then Cormier arrived at HP Pavilion, heard the music blaring throughout the arena, fans screaming at the top of their lungs and realized he had arrived; he’d made it to the big time. And Cormier lost his nerves.

It’s the one thing that hours upon hours of training with some of the best fighters in MMA couldn’t prepare him for. Facing Mir, one of the top heavyweights, on MMA’s biggest stage, under its brightest lights was a bit much for the 2012 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner to handle.

“I was nervous and I can’t explain why,” Cormier said. “It must’ve been this big-fight feel. Before I walked into the cage I felt nervous.

“I always laughed when [UFC president] Dana [White] said there’s jitters that come along with this. I was like, ‘My career prepared me for this.’ But man, I was nervous today. I was so nervous.

“More than anything I got tired. I’ve never felt tired in a fight. I think it was my nerves.”

“

I always laughed when [UFC president] Dana [White] said there's jitters that come along with this. I was like, 'My career prepared me for this.' But man, I was nervous today. I was so nervous.

” -- Daniel Cormier

Competing in UFC for the first time proved to be Cormier’s latest MMA learning experience. He gets a passing grade for weathering the nervous storm, surviving his latest cram session.

Defeating Mir, who appeared to be in the best shape of his career Saturday night, is a major accomplishment for the man who entered the bout with only 11 pro fights. Mir was determined not to drop two fights in a row, something he had never done in UFC.

So give Cormier credit, he was facing the best that Mir had to offer and he won. It wasn’t a memorable performance -- too much holding against the cage, not enough striking and nothing by way of ground attack. It was a win for Cormier -- methodical, but a good one nonetheless.

Though his cardio came into question for the first time -- nervousness did have much to do with it -- this win cements Cormier as one of the two or three best heavyweights in MMA. But UFC officials should not offer him a title shot, not yet.

Cormier needs one or two more fights inside the Octagon. He needs to know, not believe, that on fight night he will leave the arena victorious. Every step must be taken to never allow his nerves to betray him again.

A fully developed Cormier, physically and psychologically, could become a great UFC champion. And that would serve the promotion well.

So give Cormier one or two more appearances in the Octagon. Let him put on the type of high-octane performance inside the UFC cage that fans were used to seeing from him during his days with Strikeforce.

Allow Cormier to get his nerves completely under control. Then offer him a heavyweight title shot. He will not disappoint.

UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and challenger Gilbert Melendez both made weight Friday for their title showdown in San Jose, Calif.

With everything set for Saturday's UFC on FOX 7 main event, promotion president Dana White tapped each guy's shoulder to signal they were free to go their separate ways for the next 24 hours.

But that doesn't mean it necessarily had been smooth sailing up until that point.

Melendez had no difficulty upholding his end of the deal, checking in at 154 pounds. For Henderson, however, there was a brief moment of suspense.

Before stepping on the scale, the defending champion began removing all of his clothing. Henderson instructed UFC officials to hold up a towel, shielding him from the peering eyes of excited fans.

Such action is indicative of a fighter unsure he would make the mandatory championship-bout weight limit. By removing every stitch of clothing before stepping on the scale, Henderson knew he was cutting it very close.

Fortunately, a completely unclothed Henderson tipped the scale at exactly 155 pounds, making the bout official. No harm, no foul.

Henderson has removed all of his clothing before stepping on the scale in the past. But this time he lacked his usual look of confidence, which offered a glimpse into Henderson’s fighting future as it's getting tougher for him to make the weight on a regular basis.

Never one to shy away from the issue, Henderson openly addressed it recently with ESPN.com when the topic of a superfight against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre arose. As his body continues to grow and get stronger, Henderson is under the impression that size won't be an issue if a bout with St-Pierre is made.

"I'm getting older," Henderson said. "I'm 29 now, almost 30. At my age it's getting hard for me to make the weight class at 155. So, I wouldn't mind having a break and having one fight at 170 -- having a St-Pierre fight."

While he expressed interest in the fight, Henderson made it clear he has no intention of abandoning the lightweight division. His long-term goal remains the same: to be recognized as the greatest mixed martial artist ever.

But by mentioning a fight with St-Pierre at 170 pounds, it's a way for Henderson to convey he is starting to feel the effects of cutting weight and wants to avoid diminishing his high performance level in the Octagon.

"I want to maintain my integrity," Henderson said. "I don't want to be one of those guys who cut 20 pounds of water weight and I step in the cage and look sloppy or look fat and don't perform well. I want to make sure that I am fully prepared. It's not just about making weight. It's about maintaining that strict diet, that strict lifestyle. And it gets harder and harder as guys get older -- you fill out more. And I'm getting older.

“I had the metabolism of a 19-year-old when I was 25. But now that I'm 29, my metabolism is like that of a 25-year-old. I'm still ahead of the curve, but I am slowing down. I have to work that much harder, but I can still make 155 for the rest of my career. I can do it. I'm not against doing it."

Henderson isn't making an unprecedented request. UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has competed several times at 205 pounds, which allows him to remain sharp while giving his lean body a respite from cutting a significant amount of weight.

Silva hasn't competed at 205 often -- just three times during his nearly seven years with UFC. And Henderson isn't requesting anything more than an occasional 170-pound event.

"Like the way Anderson Silva does it -- have a fight at 205 every once in a while and always make 185, his weight class," Henderson said. "I'd be okay with that -- staying at 155, making weight at 155 for the rest of my career. But every once in a while, having a super fight at 170 -- St-Pierre and I squaring off. I'd be cool with that."

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- On camera and off. In the gym before, during and after workouts. One-on-one or in a group. Unbeaten heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier is the furthest thing from shy.

Expressing supreme confidence in his ability to remain undefeated on Saturday against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir at the HP Pavilion, Cormier, 34, believes that "when it comes to heart and drive I beat [Mir] every time."

"When I sit back and I honestly think about the fight I have a lot of advantages, and if I use them I should be OK," Cormier said prior to a recent training session at the American Kickboxing Academy. "He's a good heavyweight but when you really think about it there's a difference between a lifetime athlete and a guy that started doing something a little bit older. I think it's going to show in the fight.

"I've been competing my entire life. It's what I do. That's what I plan to do on April 20th. And if he's ready to raise himself to that competitive level then I'm going to have a tough fight on my hands. But if he isn't, then I'm just gonna run right over him."

Cormier makes his Octagon debut three and a half years after transitioning from amateur wrestler to professional mixed martial artist, and while it conflicts with his general disposition, the Strikeforce Grand Prix champion admitted that even he's surprised by how quickly he picked stuff up.

"I didn't anticipate having these kind of fights as soon as I did," Cormier said.

Stopping Antonio Silva and dominating a five-round decision against Josh Barnett sent a clear message that Cormier, squat and quick, is a name was worth remembering. Expectations set in, especially after Barnett, and he was matched with Mir for a bout late last year on one of the last Strikeforce cards. When Mir was injured, the fight was postponed and Cormier went from facing a highly dangerous and respected former champion to facing Dion Staring.

The contrast messed with Cormier, especially on fight night.

Competing in hostile environments around the world since he was a teenager didn't help make the situation any more comfortable for Cormier. Fighting Staring, an opponent nobody thought could win, prompted Cormier's impermeable confidence to spring a leak. Everything was about him and his future and not the competition, and that was different and uneasy.

"I think the most pressure situation I had was the last one because I knew that if I won that fight I was in for some really big fights," Cormier said. "I don't know what would have happened if Dion Staring would have beaten me, and that's what scares you: the unknown.

"There was a lot of pressure to just go out there and beat him up. That's not how it works. We're all professional fighters."

Yet if things line up the way Cormier expects them to, he sees himself running through Mir en route to the top of the heavyweight division, which is currently ruled by his friend and training partner Cain Velasquez. As a result there have been calls for Cormier to drop to 205. Mir suggested that he'll be the guy who proves Cormier's less-than-prototypical heavyweight frame will cost him at the highest level -- though results against Silva and Barnett suggest the opposite.

As far as light heavyweight goes, Cormier is willing to fight there despite a history of health issues related to weight cutting -- including kidney failure -- because, he said, regardless of whom he fights, including Jon Jones, he'll hold a significant edge.

History. His, to be specific.

He trusts his competitive experience and his natural ability will carry the day against all comers. It sounds cocky, but it's not. Cormier's confidence is infectious and heavily influenced by his drive and determination to be good at whatever it is he chooses to do.

The package, as Cormier described it, is the antidote of fear rather than the disease of arrogance.

"I'm determined to be the best that I can be, whether that be UFC champion or No. 1 contender or maybe I never fight for a belt," he said. "But if that's the best I can do as Daniel Cormier, then that's the best I can do. I'll be able to go on to the next phase of my life and be OK. I have a desire to be good at everything I do and I work my tail off to accomplish it.

"I'm fighting the best guys in the world now, you never know what's going to happen, but for me personally on April 20 I anticipate winning that fight in a manner that's going to make my teammates and coaches proud of what I did."

As a matter of fact, mixed martial arts is an exercise in proving what you're made of.

Cormier's success hasn't required that he show the world any special mettle yet, however "I know if I need to I'll be willing to."

Benson Henderson didn’t begin preparing for his showdown Saturday night with Gilbert Melendez a few months ago, when the UFC officially announced the fight.

That process started six years ago, when Henderson trained for the first time in mixed martial arts. It was at that moment that he took the initial step toward achieving his ultimate goal: of one day being recognized as the greatest mixed martial artist ever.

In every training session, Henderson visualized himself competing and winning fights. Sometimes he’d put a face on his imaginary foe. On a few occasions, the foe would be Melendez.

And in every one of those imaginary battles, Henderson would walk away victorious.

Although Henderson was just a wannabe mixed martial artist at the time, he never doubted that, with extra hard work, his goal could be achieved. Then he turned pro and racked up a few wins, and the visions of defeating future opponents, including Melendez -- a guy who was already manhandling some of the sport’s top fighters -- became more pronounced.

So when Henderson steps inside the Octagon to defend his UFC lightweight title Saturday night in San Jose, Calif., against Melendez -- the former Strikeforce lightweight champion -- he's sure to recall the many hours spent getting ready for this moment and those visions of having his hand raised afterward. He can take solace in knowing that his years of preparation for this battle serve as the great equalizer. Those years of training for this bout will play a part in lessening Melendez’s distinct experience edge.

Melendez began his professional career in 2002, four years before Henderson participated in his first MMA training session.

“I was in college watching him fight in Japan,” 29-year-old Henderson told ESPN.com. “I wasn’t even fighting then. He has so much more experience than me. I have so much more room to grow.

“

I was in college watching him fight in Japan. I wasn't even fighting then. He has so much more experience than me. I have so much more room to grow.

” -- Benson Henderson, on Gilbert Melendez's experience as a mixed martial artist

“When you look at my career, I’ve only been fighting for [a little more than] six years. Gilbert Melendez has 20,000 hours of boxing practice. I have maybe 10,000 hours of boxing practice. I’m OK now. But I’m nowhere near as good as I will be three years from now, four years from now, five years from now.”

Stylewise, there isn’t much that separates Henderson and Melendez. They are similar in many ways. Each possesses a strong wrestling foundation. Both are aggressive fighters who pack power in their hands and legs.

There is, however, the perception that their careers are heading in different directions. Henderson admits he is still in the learning stages. He is far from his fighting peak.

“I’m just getting started,” Henderson said recently.

It could be argued that Melendez, 31, is in his prime. He’s pretty damn good, but has had his share of very violent battles. His fight with Henderson is expected to be the latest in a long line of brutal encounters.

They are sure to leave one another battered and bruised because neither is a backward-step type of guy. In a matchup like this, between two very aggressive, hard-nosed combatants, something has to give.

When the smoke clears Saturday night, one fighter will have paid a hefty price. This is the kind of bout fans are likely to remember for many years -- the type Henderson craves.

It fits right into his master plan of one day being recognized as the greatest mixed martial artist ever. But if Henderson is to accomplish this goal, he must defeat the likes of Melendez. There can be no setback; claiming to have an off night won’t cut it.

Come up short Saturday night to Melendez and the possibility of one day being classified the greatest ever gets greatly diminished.

With so much at stake, Henderson isn’t looking past Melendez. The road to greatness, where there are no shortcuts, doesn’t allow him that luxury. It’s always going to be: defeat this great opponent, then the next and the next.

Melendez represents the current hurdle, albeit one that has been visible for many years. This isn’t just another title fight for Henderson, however -- none is, at this point; it’s the latest block that’s necessary to build his legacy of greatness.

“There is a much bigger picture,” Henderson said. “Too often people forget about the bigger picture and focus on the little things. And they forget about the bigger picture, the master plan.”

Henderson never removes his eyes from the big picture. His destiny is at stake each time he steps in the cage, and Saturday night is no different. He vows not to stumble; he’s had more than enough time to get ready for this showdown.

“Life is like a roller coaster, you’ll have ups and downs,” said Henderson, the former WEC champion who works diligently to never again taste defeat in a title fight. “Every time I step into the Octagon, I want to be fully prepared as a champion emotionally, spiritually, physically.

“I’m fighting Gilbert Melendez on Saturday night. I’ve been preparing six years for this.”