 Marcus LeVesseur (red/white/blue shorts) lifts Abel Trujillo during their lightweight bout at UFC on FOX 5 on Saturday night. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) |
Benson (Smooth) Henderson dominated Nate Diaz en route to retaining the UFC lightweight championship in the main event of UFC on FOX 5 in Seattle Saturday.
Diaz never really got going over the course of the five-round bout.
The two spent much of the first clinched against the fence, exchanging knees and punches. Towards the end of the frame, Henderson began tagging Diaz with leg kicks, tripping The Ultimate Fighter season five winner to the mat. Henderson took Diaz to the ground early in the second, before tagging him with a high kick upon returned to his feet. Henderson continued to assault Diaz’s legs with kicks and, surprisingly, jabs. He then dropped the Stockton, Calif. native with a straight left.
In the third, Diaz threatened with a toe hold, but Henderson countered by taking back control. Diaz escaped and immediately went back to looking for leg locks. The two soon returned to their feet, but Henderson sent him right back down with a well-timed right hand.
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