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UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos
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Published: 8/22/2014  at  3:13:00 AM
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UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos

Saturday, August 23 – 11:30 p.m. ET
Tulsa, OK

Benson Henderson (21-3) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (21-7)

5-Round Lightweight bout
Line: Henderson -400, dos Anjos +300

Benson Henderson looks to get closer to a potential championship bout as he goes up against Rafael dos Anjos in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Tulsa on Saturday night.

Henderson is 9-1 in his past 10 fights, including two straight wins since losing to Anthony Pettis on August 31, 2013. In his last match against Rustam Khabilov on June 7, he ended the match with a rear-naked chokehold in the fourth round. Henderson is one of the best athletes in the UFC, with a great combination of speed and quickness. He is also dangerous because his cardio is also top-notch, making him nearly difficult to wear out. His biggest weakness as of late is that he has had a tendency to start slowly in fights, and not perform up to his capabilities until later in the match. While it hasn’t hurt him in most of his matches, dos Anjos is not the type of fighter that you can allow to get some confidence early. After a close decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 19, Dos Anjos bounced back seven weeks later on June 7, as he got a dominating victory against Jason High. In that fight, he held a 36-24 advantage in significant strikes and delivered a knockout victory in the second round. Saturday is a fight that features two explosive athletes that can end a match in a hurry in a number of different ways. But HENDERSON right now is on a mission to get into a title bout, and that motivation will be the difference in this fight. Despite the heavy odds, this has the makings of an instant classic.

Henderson has 21 victories in his career, with 10 of them coming by way of decision. The 30-year-old who fights out of Glendale, AZ, has seven other victories by submission, with the other four coming by way of knockout. Neither combatant figures to have a significant advantage when it comes to landing strikes, as Henderson has a tiny advantage in this department (2.7 significant strikes landed per minute for Henderson, compared to 2.6 for dos Anjos). However, dos Anjos has a tendency to take some punches, as he absorbs 2.5 strikes per minute, compared to 1.5 for Henderson. He is also more accurate when it comes to landing strikes, connecting on 44%, compared to 36% by dos Anjos. When Henderson is on his game, there are very few fighters on the planet that can compete with him. However, he can’t allow dos Anjos to get rolling, or he could end this match pretty quickly.

Like Henderson, dos Anjos has 10 of his 21 career victories by way of decision. He also has eight victories by submission, and three by knockout. Since 2012, dos Anjos has a 6-1 record for his seven matches. For the 29-year-old dos Anjos to win Saturday's fight, he must come out from the very beginning ready to go, and also be ready to defend against the takedown. He has a takedown defense percentage of 64%, which is slightly better than 62% for his opponent. Henderson not only is looking to submit his opponent when he takes them to the ground, but he is also trying to wear them down for the decision victory. The Brazil native is in very good shape, but has never faced an opponent with the cardio that Henderson will bring into the fight. If dos Anjos can get off to a fast start, he will be in great shape to get the victory. However, if Henderson looks to dominate early, dos Anjos will be in big trouble. Both fighters are an identical 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds.


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