Anthony Pettis stands next to his mother after wining the lightweight title. Photo via UFC Facebook.
Anthony Pettis made it 2-0 against Benson Henderson, submitting the champion in their rematch to earn the lightweight title at UFC 164 on Saturday in Milwaukee.
Pettis found himself on his back and secured an armbar, forcing Henderson to verbally tap out and bring a stop to the main event at 4:31 of the first round.
“I’m here, man. I’m here,” Pettis said, following the finish of Henderson. “I felt his arm pop and he said ‘tap, tap, tap … The armbar is the work of Moraes Jiu-Jitsu.”
Henderson came out and worked the clinch early on, shooting in on Pettis and posting him against the fence. While there, the two traded short strikes with Henderson landing more.
Soon after the two separated, Pettis landed several mid kicks and attempted a spinning kick, but found himself in a position where he was forced to pull guard. It was at that point that Pettis secured the arm, pulled back and won the fight by armbar submission.
“Anthony’s a tough dude,” Henderson said after the loss. “[He] proved himself to be a champ.”
The win secures the 155-pound title for Pettis, in addition to his fourth win in a row for a 17-2 overall record. Henderson falls to 19-3, suffering his first loss since his original meeting against Pettis at WEC 53 in December 2010.
Josh Barnett gets the first-round win at UFC 164. Photo by Eshter Lin via MMAFighting.com.
Barnett gets through Mir in the first
Josh Barnett stopped Frank Mir with a technical knockout in the first round of their co-main event at UFC 164 on Saturday.
Barnett landed a knee that sent Mir falling to the canvas, which was almost immediately followed by the referee stepping in to stop the fight at 1:56 of the opening time frame.
“It felt great to get this win here in the UFC,” Barnett said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
The two fighters began exchanging strikes early on in the bout, clinching and landing short blows. Barnett, however, began to control Mir more in the clinch, landing uppercuts and overhand punches on his opponent.
After securing Mir against the fence, Barnett landed a perfectly placed knee and that sent his opposition crashing to the floor. The referee stopped the contest, but Mir stood up in protest, visibly upset that the fight had been stopped. But was too late at that point, as Barnett had been declared the winner.
With the win, Barnett is victorious in his first fight in the UFC since 2002 and improves his record to 33-6. In defeat, Mir drops to 16-8 and loses the third fight in a row for the first time in his career.
Mendes finishes Guida early in the third
Chad Mendes finished Clay Guida with a technical knockout in their UFC 164 main card fight on Saturday evening.
Mendes landed a flurry strikes near the beginning of the third and final round, forcing the referee to step in and put a stop to the fight at 0:30 of the last frame.
“That was my goal coming into this fight,” Mendes said of the TKO. “I want Jose Aldo.”
Mendes controlled the contest from beginning to end, landing more significant strikes than his opponent and stopping every takedown attempt Guida had until the stoppage.
The loss marks the first time Guida has suffered a TKO in his 10-year-career.
Earlier results:
- Ben Rothwell def. Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes) at 1:54, Round 3
- Dustin Poirier def. Erik Koch by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Gleison Tibau def. Jamie Varner by split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
- Tim Elliott def. Louis Gaudinot by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Hyun Gyu Lim def. Pascal Krauss by TKO at 3:58, Round 1
- Chico Camus def. Kyung Ho Kang by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Soa Palelei def. Nikita Krylov by TKO (strikes) at 1:34, Round 3
- Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
- Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman by submission (mounted guillotine) at 0:57, Round