What a finish!
Anthony Pettis proved that he does indeed have the number for Ben Henderson, forcing "Smooth" -- who was recently awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt -- to verbally tap to an armbar submission in the first round of their main event at UFC 164 last night (Sat. Aug. 31, 2013), which took place at BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
And he didn't need a "Showtime Kick" this time around, which was the case during the final event for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) back in 2010.
On the contrary, Pettis weathered an early Henderson blitz, remaining cool, calm and collected, knowing that he had five rounds to strut his stuff. Midway through round one, "Showtime" began to open up after Henderson had him stuffed up against the cage, launching several kicks that found their marks.
One of them didn't, however, and Henderson used it to take the Lightweight match to the ground. As it turns out, this decision was a terrible mistake because Pettis immediately trapped Henderson's arm while on his back and began to apply bone-breaking pressure.
Henderson attempt to escape, rising to his feet and turning to his side, but Pettis apparently had it locked in tight. In fact, in his post-fight interview, Pettis revealed that he heard it "pop," while Henderson admitted that it was "killing" him.
That physical pain is only temporary -- the psychological fallout will likely last much longer now that Henderson has lost two world titles in two different promotions to "Showtime."
What (another) amazing finish ... even if the armbar submission (verbal tapout) was far less flashy.
For more on the UFC 164 main event between Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis click here, here and here.
Get the latest gear
