WEC 53 Results: Anthony Pettis captures the WEC Lightweight gold from Ben Henderson in 'Fight of the Year' candidate
Posted on December 16, 2010, 11:12 PM by Anton GurevichBen Henderson and Anthony Pettis delivered one of the greatest performances ever seen in Mixed Martial Arts, with 5 rounds of technique, aggression and pure entertainment. This fight symbolized all 9 years of World Extreme Cagefighting, and was surely the best ending Reed Harris wanted for his promotion.
Henderson was the first man to find his range in the first part of the fight, punishing Anthony Pettis with hard leg kicks and good striking combinations. But it was just a beginning. Rejuvenated Pettis proved his worth in the second, answering Henderson with strikes of his own, rocking the Champion on several occasions. "Showtime" Pettis was at his prime during the fight, with submission attempts, sweeps and a second-to-none clinch game. Ben Henderson's chin worked extra hours, as Pettis came step after step closer to the WEC Lightweight belt.
The highlight of the fight was when Anthony Pettis performed a move taken straight from the Matrix (the 'Reloaded' one), gaining momentum by climbing on the cage and kicking Ben Henderson directly on the chin. Henderson was rocked, but still not done, as Anthony Pettis set a heavy exclamation mark on his victory.
In the end, the judges awarded Pettis a 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 victory, over someone who was widely considered as unbeatable in WEC. At the age of just 23, Anthony Pettis (13-1 in MMA) is the new WEC Lightweight title, facing the winner of UFC Lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, which will take place on January 1st at UFC 125.
For full WEC 53 Results and LowPick scores check out the Events page.
Comments
He is the Jon Jones of the Lightweight Division!
Future UFC Champion!
I doubt Pettis would like to be known as the "Jon Jones" of the LW division and anyways his striking is way better then Jones's rite now n he throws more unorthodox n flashy kicks then Jones
no he is the Anthony Pettis of the lightweight division.
when was the last time we saw a main event that good!? Knew Pettis was too much for bendo, cannot wait to see who's getting ran over by showtime!
Well said, Jon Jones doesnt do anything near as flashy as Pettis. Pettis is the Pettis of MMA.
Fight was amazing, truly embodied the spirit of the WEC
that head kick was stolen from a Jackie Chan movie i was jumping off my couch when i saw that
I disagree with you! Jon Jones is also a flashy fighter.
i never said he wasnt flashy, im just saying Pettis is much flashier.
Well, Pettis might be a little flashier now since Jon Jones has been training in Greg Jackson's camp, but he is still flashy.
I don't really agree, Jones has incredibly flashy wrestling as well as striking so I'd say he is flashier. Also I was kind of thinking right until that final ninja kick "where is all that flash" as it was Pettis first and only flashy strike in the fight.
Meh.
why dont you suck his **** already
the kick in the 5 round was one of best moves i ever see in a cage!!! maynard and edgar are in big trouble :)
Hell yeah man these wec guys bring it!!!
I'm gonna call that... The Ninja Kick From Hell.
This kid is amazing, one of my new favorite fighters. JESUS what a fight!
AMAZING
Pettis Flying Matrix Kick!
I've never seen a kick like that.
Wow !
I can't wait to see Pettis fight next.
Ninja WOW. Highlight reel for as long as this sport exists.
Oh, also calling that fight of the year. It was closer than Zombie-Garcia and we got five rounds. Plus, no ninjitsu.
Hollywood should give showtime a contract right now!
Awesome fight...
It was a great fight. I had it pretty even until the cage running kick. Good fighter but i can't respect him for having a "Showtime" tattoo across his back.
That's his nickname dude! I can't respect anyone with the screen name Tender Rain Drop!! .... hmmm?
I don't have Tender Rain Drop tattooed across my upper back. If i did i'd have no respect for myself. There is a difference.
Wait.....
Do you have your name tattooed across your back like a sports jersey? Oops, sorry, didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
Stupid tattoos are stupid tattoos. What do you expect.
No, I dont have any tattoos. Unlike you tho, I don't judge. I had heard about Anthony "Showtime" Pettis a couple of years ago, and can say his story is amazing. His father died over a bad drug deal and he grew up in a shitty neighborhood, and could have easily fallen. If he chose that nickname w. dreams of becoming a star, who are you to judge - asshole!
I am me, i can judge whomever i want. You judge me by calling me an asshole. If you are going to be a hypocrite put some effort into it. He can be all he wants, i didn't shoot the kid down for being poor or growing up in a poor neighborhood or anything of that nature. It is what it is, it's all a matter of luck and hard work. Just because he grew up poor I should give him extra leeway for having a stupid tattoo? Now come on guy.
he could probably ninja kick your head right off
And? I should keep my mouth shut because he can kick my ass? With that attitude we'd be still crawling on the bottom of the ocean.
and cain velasquez should be damned for that "brown pride" tatoo. GTFO!
i do agree the brown pride tattoo is pretty ridiculous.
If i was Maynard or Edgar i would be shitting my pants right now
I'll never forget that moment for the rest of my life.
don't exaggerate..
Amazing performance by both guys, one of the best fights I've seen. I felt like I was watching the two best lightweights in the world. I thought henderson could've gotten the decision, he came soo close to finishing with that rnc, but no complaints it was neck and neck, and pettis rocked him a few times. Pettis is scary good he's only 23 and his striking and bjj is vicious.. watch out ufc lw's. The matrix kick guarantees it goes down in the history books
These guys and the WEC are amazing. Every WEC show has always been amazing. I'm glad with the UFC merger they will finally get the money and recognition they deserve.
FALCON KICK!
Pettis is the man. What a kick too!
MATRIX kick
BH will be back up in the ranks no time. The due has a iron in his chin, very tough to finish, and hard to submit. Really he just needs better striking defense.
That kick won him the belt. If he hadn't gone for it, Ben would still be the champ. Awesome seize of the moment by Pettis!
What a great fight! Utterly entertaining; just two great fighters.
Edgar or Maynard, either or, better show up with a lot of game for this unification match.
Easily Fight of The Year.
Yeah, fight of the year, no doubt. I hope that after Pettis takes the UFC belt that there is a rematch. I think Pettis eeked out the win but that was a close fugg'n fight. Wow.
Truly great fight thou I have to say Hendo didn't really look himself, he is usually far more aggressive then that, wonder if something was wrong pre fight or if he hurt his hands. Actually now that I think of it that would explain why he couldn't finish that RNC and how many strikes did he actually throw after the first round? hm
Was a great fight to watch, but fight of the year? Seriously? Hendersonspent half the fight running backwards. It was the clinch and wrestling that was most entertaining for the main part as they both took turns to dominate and they were pretty evenly matched. The flying kick was straight out of a jackie chan film though as someone already said, and maybe that was move of the year, but there are far better candidates for fight of the year if you care to watch a few other fights back to back alongside this one.
As for Edgar and Maynard, I think both of these are favourites against anyone from the WEC, though Pettis Edgar will be awesome as stylistically they are a dream match up. But don't be too quick to underestimate Edgar. look what happened to BJ when ya'll done it before.