Ben Henderson won’t let Nate Diaz get inside his head

When Ben Henderson steps into the cage at UFC on Fox 5 this December, he will seek to silence all of the critics who may believe he is an overrated champion. While many think that he is lucky to still have the belt after defeating Frankie Edgar via split decision in the main event of UFC 150, Henderson remains Supremely confident heading into his next defense against Nate Diaz. After all, Henderson has cut his way through the UFC Lightweight division with great effectiveness, defeating all in his path to become champion in short order. However, he has also been derided for taking all of these victories to the judges’ scorecards. Nate Diaz has also been on a tear as of late, defeating Donald Cerrone in impressive fashion and finishing both Jim Miller and Takanori Gomi. Henderson respects his current opponent’s skills, but also believes he has just the plan to emerge victorious:

“Every time a fighter does what they’re supposed to do, and improves and gets better every fight, I wouldn’t say the blueprint goes out the window, but it can be harder to execute the blueprint. Guys leave holes open in their game. Those holes get smaller if you do what you’re supposed to do and get better from fight to fight. Nate Diaz has shown a big improvement from his early years in the UFC and he’s made those holes a lot smaller, but I think the blueprint is definitely still out there on how to beat Nate. It’s not just, ‘Oh, we think you’ve got to do this. We think you’ve got to do this.’ No, if you want to beat him, you’ve got to do A, B, C, and D. And then you beat him. Period. You’re done.” -via MMAFighting.com

Always one to have a cut-and-dry but never over-emotional view of things, Henderson appears to have analyzed the situation calmly and precisely. Both of the Diaz brothers have been in the news as of late, and both are also known for their high-strung, aggressive, and outspoken antics in the media. They may have used these actions to get inside many a fighter’s head in the past, but Henderson realizes this and will not let Nate Diaz affect him mentally:

“Nate and Nick, the whole scrap pack team, they do a good job of getting inside other fighters’ heads, whether it’s their body language, whether it’s their words or whatever the case may be. It works well for them. I’m definitely preparing myself mentally to face that, and when I do face that, act accordingly. I don’t intend on it affecting me. I don’t intend on going out there and being all mad, all of a sudden getting emotional.”

With a calm head and collected gameplan together, Henderson will seek to continue his quest to become the greatest fighter the UFC has ever seen, an ultimately lofty goal that he has set for himself. Will Nate Diaz derail this train before it ever gets out of the station?

Photo: CombatLifestyle.com