If anyone thought the UFC would have trouble promoting a WEC-UFC lightweight title unification bout, think again. Anthony Pettis pulled the upset on former WEC champ Ben Henderson by using one of the craziest moves in MMA history.
Pettis landed a wacky head kick after he ran up the side of the cage. A stunned Henderson hit the deck with less than 90 seconds left in the fight. In a back and forth five rounder, that was pretty even inside the final two minutes, the stunning kick locked up the win for Pettis.
He took the title and earned himself a shot against the UFC lightweight champ with a unanimous decision win 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Cagewriter scored it 48-47 for Pettis.
Frank Edgar, the current UFC 155-pound champ defends his title on Jan. 1 against Gray Maynard. Pettis gets the winner some time in 2011. That kick will be the centerpiece of the UFC's highlight reel heading into the title showdown.
"We practice that all the time in the cage," Pettis told WEC announcer Craig Hummer. " (Pettis' trainer) Duke Roufus says just have fun in the cage. I got 10 more of them kicks coming. How do you like that to end the WEC?"
Pettis (13-1, 6-1 WEC) goes down as the final lightweight champ in WEC history. Zuffa's smaller promotion is being folded into the much more popular UFC. Many of the fighters from the WEC's 135, 145 and 155 pound weight classes will be brought on board. UFC actually started mixing in some of the WEC's roster on two cards earlier this month.
Henderson (12-2, 5-2 WEC) will be one of those guys. He was likely a good five minutes away from getting his shot at Edgar or Maynard. Henderson was the better grappler in the fight but had trouble finding his range on the feet. It was an even fight entering the final round. Pettis was effective most of the fight on the counter-strike and really got hot in the fifth.
Pettis blasted Henderson on a combination with 3:50 left. He also landed a brutal knee as Henderson charged in for a takedown with 2:53 left. Henderson scored a takedown with 2:20 left and got Pettis' back but he got a little impatient going for the choke and he allowed his opponent to escape with 1:28 left. The fighters circled for a while and then Pettis attempted his running kick with 1:04 left. He nailed Henderson, who fell to his back. Pettis got off 41 unanswered punches and hammer fists, while Henderson clutched at his leg on the ground. The kick and final minute sealed the victory.
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