How highly do you rate Benson Henderson? How does he do against prime BJ?

I think the guy has all the attributes to go down as a "great" talking in terms of BJ Penn is premature, Penn finished fights, he will always have that going for him.

Henderson is a product of modern MMA, well rounded, solid skill set, gives nothing away, and is very tough to beat in every single department.

Thing is with Ben Henderson, I look at his application and in my mind he is still trying to inflict damage on his opponents to actually force a finish, unlike St Pierre who is strategy, strategy, strategy, Henderson is putting himself in harms way, its just the finishes are not coming ....................... yet!

But I imagine they will soon enough, the guy is evolving fast, his cardio is beyond freakish, great wrestling, superb striking, good combination striker with hands and feet! the guy has the tools!

 

The mind set in modern MMA is one of a structured fight, looking primarily to beat the opponent on points rather than look for ways to force a stoppage.

Not in every single fight I will add but look at the likes of Edgar, St Pierre, John Jones Dominic Cruz to an extent! all top P4P guys but have that modern application where strategy comes first.

The likes of BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell, Fedor, Wanderlei, Shogun these will never be seen in MMA again, because that type of caution to the wind approach of going in there and taking the win by KO or submission is too dangerous to a fighter nowadays, the sport has become like boxing in this sense.

Get the W first, if the finish is there take it! if possible, its changed, and its changed for good. Look at all the up and coming fighters now, they are all well rounded, Jose Aldo was probably the last one to come through and blast people out!

Benson Henderson may go on a run of 10 world title defences without finishing a guy, this will ofcourse have him surpass Penn in numbers, but the fan will always remember Penn before a LW version of St Pierre.

Please dont get me wrong, what St Pierre does is very very impressive / special in-fact, but it is this application that has seen a tectonic shift in the way young fighters want to go about their business in the cage. I preferred and still prefer a finish to a fight!

I just hope Henderson develops enough skill to start putting guys away.

 

I don`t rate him that highly, he`s a good champion & quite well rounded but I`m pretty sure a prime BJ Penn finishes him within 5 rounds. If not then he beats him down for at least 4 of those en route to a clear UD.

Penn is on a different level to Henderson, he is without doubt the greatest LW in MMA history, I doubt Ben Henderson can get close to that ranking but only time will tell us that.

 

The first fight was a 50/50 fight, no clear winner.

I thought Edgar definitely beat him close but clear in the rematch.

 

For sitting atop possibly the best division in MMA history; he doesn't impress me as much as I thought one would.

 

I think this is pie in the sky to be perfectly honest, Im not sure what flaws Henderson has that BJ could capitalise on!

Henderson is a better striker than Penn, better wrestler, fitter, stronger, as quick on the feet with as quick hand speed, and he has more tools!

Nobody ever wants to be that guy that says Ben Henderson would beat a prime BJ Penn, but one has to do a little assessment of the fighters, if somebody is asking me how I see Penn finishing or out-pointing Ben Henderson, I'm not actually sure how I see that happening.

 

I think people are forgetting this guys age, he's still a baby, technically speaking he should still be a prospect, his skill set has evolved very very quickly and he is becoming a pretty efficient monster at 155, I don't want to use the term un-beatable, but he's clearly the best fighter in the division right now

 

In terms of legacy, Henderson isn't there yet. In terms of head to head, he beats any version of Penn. He's too good of an athlete and his kicks would make the difference. Penn wouldn't be able to take him down or keep him down if he did and Henderson's cardio would outlast Penn easily.

And Edgar won the second fight.

 

he could beat penn

 

He's good, but not the ultimate dominant lightweight champion the UFC is trying to push him as.

He'd lose to prime Penn, and would lose to Pettis again or Aldo if he moves up.

I had him clearly beating Edgar the first time, but I tend to give the rematch to Edgar 3-2 (1 and 3 to Bendo, 2 and 4 to Edgar, 5 is a swing round; Bendo landed the most significant blow of the round, but not much happened in it until the very end of the round, which favored Edgar's "run around and throw arm punches, shoot takedowns that lead to nothing, rinse and repeat" strategy.)

Still, if he manages to not fight Aldo or Pettis, he could well put together a long run of decision win title defenses. Could be the reign of "BSP."

 

How would Benson Henderson do against the two versions of GSP that BJ fought?

 

He has some intangibles, his striking is nuanced enough to give non kickboxers looks they have never seen before, but as we have seen better kickboxers can beat Henderson (Pettis) with even more nuanced looks and feints than even Henderson was accustomed to seeing.

Henderson is game, scrappy and very limber/ flexible for someone who carries the sort of explosive power he does. He's strong enough and flexible enough to neutralize really nice takedown attempts, and his gas is exceptional. He's not a guy who's easy to out will, as we saw with Guida, he can keep up with any pace and is comfortable in deep water.

What I think Henderson lacks is Polish in a certain location. Most great fighters have a couple things they can reach for in their bag of tricks, I don't see any specific techniques of Henderson that are outstanding. Nothing like a Jose Aldo knee or leg kicks, or a GSP takedown, or some technique he can use to change the tide of a fight. He didn't beat Frankie convincingly, and he is susceptible to being out struck on the feet which makes me think B.J. could beat him.

But, B.J. is also a guy who could be out willed and out hustled, Benson Henderson has will and Hustle in spades. It's an interesting matchup you bring up! If BJ ever had a weakness it was his heart and will, where he had techniques and polish in spades..

Fascinating matchup to think about Haggis!

 

BJ Penn had all the talent in the world. He had all the skills and the physical gifts to dominate.

His problem was his mind.

No fighter has fallen so quickly because of mental issues. I would never bet against BJ when he was dangerous.

 

BJ Penn from 2007 - 2009 had 5 straight finishes at LW. His last fight in that stretch was against Diego Sanchez. Which was maybe the most 1-sided 5 round I've ever seen between 2 "top fighters".

Now I'm not going to say BJ was unbeatable "when motivated", because I really don't think he was ever motivated, and don't think he was "unbeatable" ever. With the evolution of the sport and the skills and talent that the fighters possess nowadays, it's just ignorant to think that none of the current LWs of today could've beaten him during that time. I think Pettis would pose a lot of problems for him, and I think Henderson could've grinded him down maybe over 5 rounds. I'd favor Pettis over him, but not Henderson (although think it's a possibility they both beat him).

Penn, to me, is seriously an enigma. I cannot understand him and his career. During 07-09 he was a monster at LW, and finished both Florian and Diego in the 4th and 5th rounds, showing he had the stamina to do so. But during that time, there are reports of him "barely" training for the St. Pierre fight?? Why train your ass off for your LW fights, but NOT train seriously for your superfight at WW against the GOAT? It makes no sense to me.