On December 16^th, 2010, Benson Henderson fought Anthony Pettis in the WEC’s final card for the lightweight championship. Even on most people cards going into the fifth and final round, Pettis delivered what will forever be known as the “Showtime” kick, running off the cage before springing forward and flattening Henderson, the defending WEC champion, with a kick that although didn’t finish the champ, effectively stole the final round and the WEC lightweight title. Even more, it gave the final WEC lightweight title holder Pettis the next crack at the UFC lightweight title. That was, until Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw at UFC 125.
  Just over two years later, it’s Henderson who instead will get the first crack at UFC gold, challenging Frankie Edgar in the main event Saturday night at UFC 144 in Japan.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Henderson said during a pre-fight teleconference for UFC 144. “The Lord does work in mysterious ways. Maybe back then I wasn’t quite ready, wasn’t quite up to snuff, whatever the reason was. Here I am now ready to run with it.”
  With the Edgar/Maynard draw holding up Pettis’ title opportunity, “Showtime” chose to take a fight with relentless veteran Clay “The Carpenter” Guida.  The longtime UFC veteran Guida seized his opportunity against the number one contender, grounding the striker Pettis en route to a unanimous decision victory, sending Pettis back to the drawing board.
  Fittingly, it would be Guida’s win over Pettis that elevated his future match-up with Benson Henderson to a title shot eliminator. After two straight wins in the UFC following the loss to Pettis, Henderson outworked and outmaneuvered Guida en route to a unanimous decision victory of his own, setting up Saturday night’s title shot against Edgar.
  Pettis, learning how important top position is from the loss to Guida, employed a much improved wrestling game to earn a split decision over the scrappy Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136. He’ll look to improve upon that performance Saturday night in an important match-up against Joe Lauzon, who recently dispatched of the highly touted Melvin Guillard on the same UFC 136 card. A win by either man could put them in prime position to get the next crack at the Henderson/Edgar winner.
  Even though it was supposed to be Pettis getting the first crack at UFC gold, it’s no surprise who he’s rooting for Saturday night, "It's really motivation for me," Pettis told MMAjunkie.com At UFC-144-Anthony Pettis looks to follow the worst year of his career with his best. MMA . "Ben did his thing last year. I had a 50 percent year, 1-1, and he went undefeated and went 3-0 over some tough dudes. He earned his title shot. He deserves it, and I'm rooting for him."
  Pettis vs. Lauzon will be the opening fight on UFC 144’s special four hour pay-per-view broadcast which takes place this Saturday night at the Saitama Super Arena, in Saitama, Japan. Benson Henderson challenging champion Frankie Edgar will serve as the main event of the evening. Be sure to make your picks for these two fights as well as the rest of the main card in our Cageside King game for a chance at one of three prizes!
 
Photos Courtesy of Zuffa LLC
 

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