For better or worse, title-fight squeakers becoming habit for Benson Henderson

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Benson Henderson went and did it again.

Another successful title defense, another decision so close you could practically hear him squeaking by with his UFC lightweight championship still in hand, another invitation for the MMA world to argue about the process and the outcome. Which, of course, we will. When it comes to Henderson, it’s becoming something of a tradition.

As UFC President Dana White said at the UFC on FOX 7 post-fight press conference, “It’s a Ben Henderson fight. … All his fights go to decisions – and controversial decisions.”

That’s not completely true. The only thing controversial about his decision victory over Nate Diaz this past December was the sudden appearance of a toothpick that had apparently been in his mouth for the entire fight. But the more we see of Henderson’s title reign, the more that dominant, clear-cut win seems like the exception rather than the rule. The Bendo Era in the UFC has so far been a little heavy on the split decisions. Two of his past three wins have come that way, in fact, and he’s yet to put an opponent away inside the octagon.

I guess the logical question is, who says there’s anything wrong with that?

Granted, the fans who started booing when this decision was announced and kept it up right through Henderson’s in-cage proposal to his girlfriend didn’t seem too pleased, but that’s to be expected when you beat a Bay Area fighter on his home turf (and also why the proposal might have been better off at home, but whatever).

To those slightly more impartial fans watching on TV, Henderson had just treated them to yet another close, exciting fight that maintained a steady competitive fury for five full rounds. Fine, he failed to finish (again), but in fairness he was fighting an opponent who’s been at it for a little over a decade and has yet to be put away. If we criticize other champions like Georges St-Pierre for dominating without finishing – the unstated assumption being that if you can win rounds so consistently, you ought to be able to end a fight inside the distance every now and then – shouldn’t we also cut Henderson some slack in these lightweight barnburners?

It sure seems like it, but it also seems like as much as we enjoy back-and-forth battles, what we really want from our champs is dominance in one form or another. Henderson has put together a nice list of wins, but it’s still tough to regard him as the baddest 155-pounder on the planet when three of his last four fights could have easily gone the other way. In this sport you can only rely on the judges to side with you through so many close fights before something bad happens.

Again, is that so bad? Maybe not, but neither is it an ideal way to be. Not if you’re the champion. Not if you want people to regard you as the very best, rather than as the guy who’s temporarily keeping the belt warm. Henderson is clearly a skilled, intelligent fighter, and he definitely understands how to eek out a win even in hostile territory. But if he doesn’t want to keep hearing boos when the scores are read, or keep having these same old debates after every title defense, he needs to find a way to win that leaves way less room for doubt.

Then again, if all he cares about is going home with the gold at the end of the night, he can keep relying on the kindness of judges. Just don’t be surprised if one of these nights the math doesn’t work out like he thinks it should.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 7, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.