The judges had the scores right, but gave it to the wrong guy. Cerrone won rounds 1,4, and 5. He was in control in round 4 and 5 big time, and i thought his ground game in rd 1 made it close, but def should have won it. Henderson/Varner have to give "the cowboy" a shot. Go duke city!
Agree, the chokes he had in round one were much better than anything Henderson had; they weren't just missed subs, they were seriously tight and were controling the fight much more than a takedown to guard. 2 and 3 were clearly Henderson's, because Cerrone didn't figure out that he could just push Hendersons hips away until the 4th apparantly. 4 and 5 were so clear for Cerrone.
There's a HUGE difference between thinking he got robbed and knowing it. I know he got robbed. You do too.
Ok im watching it now. Round 1 its a clear 10-9 for Cerrone, Henderson tightened things up in the 2nd half of the round with the double leg takedown, some decent GNP and briefly had Cerrones back but Cerrone attempted an omaplata,a triangle and a extremly tight gulliotine the RNC like kind that very few get out of thats why Henderson went to his back like he did to try his best and avoid tapping. Round 2 Henderson gets the takedown but Cerrone quickly creates a scramble and briefly has Hendersons back, Ben rolls into Cerrones guard but he keeps an active guard with upkicks and moving his hips and actually takes Bens back agian and goes for an armbar which Ben escapes back into Cerrones guard. The last 2 minutes though Ben stands over his guard, controls his hips and literally beats him up with body and head shots. Ben I felt clearly won this round as his round was so much more consistent. Henderson 10-9 Round 3 the first half of the round was like the end of the 2nd Henderson scored a takedown, dominated with GNP over Cerrones guard, even passed that guard and had Cerrones back a couple of times. Cerrone forced a scramble but Henderson had another quick takedown. Ben Henderson 10-9 Round 4 Cerrone spends about a minute trying to finish that same guillotine from round 1 which was very tough just Ben is damn though. Cerrone stuffs every single Henderson takedown and makes him pay for mostly all of them with strikes and even dropped Ben with a leg kick late. Dominant round for Cerrone. 10-9 Cerrone Round 5 Cerrone defended all Bens takedowns expect for one where he did get back to his feet within 5 secounds. Cerrone made him pay for the takedown attempts with strikes just like in the 4th. Twice Cerrone somewhat pulled guard which ARE NOT Henderson takedowns. Cerrone first had an omaplata then had a armbar/triangle at the same time, then switched off to a omaplata with a kimura that was bending Bens arm like crazy and Cerrone finished the fight going for an armbar. Clear 10-9 for Cerrone. 48-47 Cerrone this was a ****ing terrible decision. What 3rd round did Henderson win ? He was dominated rounds 4,5 and Cerrone nearly choking him out twice cancels out some average GNP in round 1.
This was a close fight guys. Close fights aren't robberies. Give them both tons of credit and hope to see a rematch. Cerrone had some super tight near subs, but Henderson spent a ton of time standing over Cerrone throwing punches down at him and taking nothing in return. That counts for a hell of a lot.
How does anybody give round 1 to Cerrone? Henderson won that round. Cerrone had a couple sub attempts but they obviously didnt effect Henderson as he was still able to throw and land strikes while in them. Other than that, Henderson mauled Cerrone with takedowns and was simply way more aggressive on the ground as he threw a ton of strikes. Cerrone did absolutely nothing on his back in that 1st round aside from eat a few punches. Now im watching the rest of the fight.
Submission attempts are still submission attempts. Cerrone spent the 1st half of that round trying to finish with a beautiful guillotine and a fairly deep triangle although Hendersons shoulder was out when Cerrone applied it and it made it easier to escape. Cerrone was trying to finish the fight and nearly did nothing Henderson did in that round can compare unless he was dominating which he was not. Judges and yourself just dont know what effective grappling means they just see a guy on top and assume he is kicking the **** out of the bottom guy. MMA judging has been horrible the last year or so.
henderson did NOT win that fight. even my girl was surprised at the decision. Henderson didnt want to stand up with cerrone and he didnt exactly want to play the ground game either so he stood over cerrone rather than beckon him to stand up or attempt to achieve a more dominant position he just stayed standing outside cerrone's guard and tried winging punches down (which none landed flush at all) i mean, you gotta try to win. you cant stay in the least risk position without really trying to score anything meaningful and win the round also thought the fight was over on 4 or 5 occasions.
No offense, but Roy Jones Jr. losing the gold medal in 88' is a robbery. This was a wrong decision, but it wasn't a robbery. It's like comparing a kid stealing a pack of bubblegum from the Piggly Wiggly to robbing an armored truck of millions of dollars.
1st is clear as mud to Cerrone, for me. I can see why some scored it for Henderson, I just don't agree. They controlled roughly half the round each, and Cerrone's slippery defense during the latter half was more impressive than anything Hendo was able to do to him. In round 2, Henderson bombing away on him in the wheelbarrow was plenty to earn the round. Although Cerrone did catch him with several sneaky hard upkicks. 3 - easy. Henderson dominated four minutes and change, pretty much from the first shoot onward. But for very few moments, Cerrone just constantly had something to worry about. In the next round Cerrone asserted himself every bit as much if not more. The first dominant position was perfectly played; tight choke, using the cage for leverage, using his knees...and then as soon as Henderson got up he tagged him with a strafing right to let him know this was dangerous territory. He then dodged shoots and reminded with leads and counters of his striking superiority...then wisely avoiding engagement in Henderson's guard. Brilliant round. In the last...the lurching superman punch KD two minutes in was hilarious, and the first significant action...then Cerrone did everything right in trying to secure Henderson's arm, leaving him helpless for some time. Henderson finished strong and controlled most of the last minute, save for walking flush into another upkick to the chin, and nearly losing his arm again (but getting saved by the bell) in the closing seconds. Yeah...3-2. Pretty clear to me. This falls in the same category as Marquez-Pacquiao II: blatantly wrong decision, but too close to throw the word "robbery" around (of course there are so few rounds in MMA, even championship fights, that it's almost always within a round or two and thus "close").
