Ben Henderson recently appeared by phone from Japan on HDNet’s Inside MMA, and discussed how he plans to beat UFC Lightweight Frankie Edgar in their title fight on Saturday.
“We have some new tricks that we might unveil for the fight, as far as holding him on the ground. But holding him there is not our biggest concern; it’s getting him there. He’s fast. He’s light on his feet. He has a lot of movement. He moves around very well. So, first thing’s first and that’s getting our hands on him, cutting off the ring, cornering him to get our hands on him. And then after that, if he pops back up, let him pop back up. If we took him down once, we can take him down again. It’s just a matter of cornering him, cutting off the ring and getting our hands on him.”
“I think it’s gonna be a fun affair. I think it’s gonna be action packed. You’re gonna have a little bit of ‘true MMA,’ with work on the feet and on the ground. It’ll be a little bit of everywhere. You’ll see a little bit of everything. The only thing I’m really too concerned about is losing a round by a couple points here, losing a round by a couple points there and ultimately going to a decision. That’s the only thing I really am concerned about. But, you know. It is what it is. We’ll see how it plays out.”
“I think it’ll be two very good wrestlers going in there and, because we are two very good wrestlers, it will end up being a stand up fight for the majority of the fight. If that’s the case, I’m ready to do that for 25 minutes and say, ‘Let’s have a kickboxing match for 25 minutes.’ I’m okay with that.”
“It’s pretty cool to be here in Japan and to be fighting in Japan and all that. Logistically, getting used to the time difference and all that fun stuff — it is what it is. You gotta deal with it and do the bets you can and you hopefully have your best performance, come fight night.”
