The first fight between these two skilled lightweights was very close, with the Edgar camp believing they had done enough to win. Certainly, Edgar was game and had lots of strong moments, but the perceived damage of that upkick from Henderson (and the actual damage, too) definitely swayed the tide of the fight. Henderson was also never really damaged or rocked by what Edgar had to offer, and he moved in and out with effective striking. He landed roughly 20 more significant strikes than Edgar, with that upkick being the punctuation mark. Edgar does have a beef since he had five takedowns to just one for Henderson, but fighters have lost in the past when they've had an even bigger takedown advantage than that. With that setup, it seemed right to look into the crystal ball and simulate the upcoming rematch.

I set the CPUs to do battle in UFC Undisputed 3. I ran the fight at expert difficulty (because I felt the very top level might produce too many transitions), and I also enabled “simulation” settings for a proper stamina representation. The arena was set for the Mandalay Bay Events Centre (the actual venue), and I gave the referee assignment to Mario Yamasaki.

Here's the play-by-play of the fight...

Round 1

Both men touch gloves before the fight, and then they touch again as the fight is underway. Both fighters out to the centre of the Octagon. Body kick from Edgar, countered by jabs from Henderson. The fighters are circling when Henderson lands an uppercut that drops Edgar. Henderson down into Edgar's guard landing weak shots. Edgar tries to power out, but now Henderson has his back in side control. Henderson can do nothing with the position, and it's back standing. Combination by Edgar, followed by a beautiful takedown. The position is instantly countered by “Smooth,” as he starts pounding away. Edgar finally bucks him off.

Henderson tries a takedown, but Edgar sprawls. Edgar tries to take Henderson's back, but Benson wants none of it. Henderson in Edgar's guard, punching away. Edgar kicks Henderson off, and both men are standing. Kicks are thrown by both men, and now a combination from Edgar. Edgar scores a takedown and advances to half guard. He's punching away, but now Henderson reverses. Edgar pushes him off, and both men are standing. Flying body kick from Henderson, followed by some blocked punches. Henderson scores a takedown and starts landing some elbows from side control. Edgar doesn't want to be here, and he bucks Henderson off. Henderson still pumping jabs and body kicks. Edgar lands a takedown to end the round.

Round 2

Henderson comes out firing, with more jabs, body kicks and an uppercut. Edgar firing back several straight punches of his own. Edgar lands a weak head kick, but he follows it up with some strong hooks. Henderson fires back a hard left. Edgar tries a half-collar clinch and pushes Henderson against the cage. Edgar quickly shoots the double, but Henderson sprawls. Another flying body kick from Henderson.

Edgar has him cornered against the cage, and the New Jersey native is landing some decent shots, mainly off of counter sways. Edgar gets a takedown, but Henderson throws him off quickly. Henderson goes for a few upkicks, with shades of the first fight, and Mike Goldberg comments on a few fighters who have fallen victim to the upkick. Edgar carefully waits and jumps past Henderson's legs. “Smooth” quickly reverses, and lands an elbow from side control. Edgar reverses and lands some heavy shots from guard. Henderson scrambles, and both men are back standing.

Another half-collar clinch from Edgar, but Henderson is blocking the few strikes Edgar is throwing. Henderson attempts a takedown, but it's blocked by Edgar. Now both fighters are clinching in the middle of the Octagon, with Henderson working for the body clinch and the throw. Against the cage now, and Henderson finally gets a belly-to-belly throw as the round is winding down. Henderson actually mounts Edgar, but there's no time to work.

Round 3

Both men out to the centre, firing shots. More light kicks from Henderson, countered by some hooks from Edgar. Henderson isn't finding the range, and many of his shots are missing. Sensing this, he grabs a body lock again and gets the throw. Henderson landing elbows from side control. Edgar scrambles and gets top control. He lands a quick elbow. Henderson blocks Edgar's transition to mount. Henderson powers out, and both men are standing. They are sitting in front of one another, trading shots. Henderson using lots of range-finder kicks, but he's missing on his punches. After Edgar connects on a jab, Henderson cracks him with a right that sends him down to his knees. Henderson flailing away, landing some shots to his dazed opponent. Henderson swivels around and grabs Edgar's back.

From the back mount, Henderson is trying to land shots. He rolls Edgar over, and now he has full mount. Edgar blocking the incoming bombs. Henderson rolls and has hooks in on Edgar's back. Edgar quickly turns his body away and is in Henderson's guard. Henderson scrambles, and both men are back standing. Some circling and posturing in the middle of the Octagon, and Henderson cinches in a body lock, attempting to get a late-in-the-round throw. Edgar reverses the clinch and tries a throw himself, only to have Henderson land on him in full mount to end the round.

Round 4

The championship rounds begin, with Henderson once again throwing feeler body kicks and Edgar trying to land hooks. Edgar lands a hard right, which causes Henderson to once again try the body lock for a throw. After some effort, he gets another bell-to-belly suplex. Some mild damage from Henderson, but Edgar manages to push him away, and they're both standing. Some good combinations by Henderson. He's definitely landing. Edgar is counter fighting, landing some shots, but many are blocked.

Edgar now initiates a body clinch, and he finally gets a throw. He's in Henderson's guard, landing a few shots. Henderson reverses. Now Edgar reverses. Both of them are scrambling around, exchanging positions. Henderson eventually wrests control, and he manages to get full mount on Edgar. He's not posturing up, though, as he's afraid of getting reversed. Edgar flips over, and Henderson has his back. He's landing some decent shots to the side of the head, and Edgar tries to escape, but he's getting nowhere. The round comes to a close.

Round 5

The final round begins with both men circling, and Henderson once again locks in a fully body lock. He's trying feverishly to get the takedown, but he can't get it. Lots of clinch work as the men are in the middle of the Octagon, but neither is giving an inch. The crowd starts chanting for Henderson as the clinch work continues against the cage. Joe Rogan starts saying how the crowd isn't loving this clinch fest when Henderson finally gets a throw. He lands some elbows from side control. Edgar scrambles and pushes Henderson away.

A weak head kick from Edgar, followed by a left hook that misses. Finally, Edgar starts to connect, landing several good strikes. Henderson backpedals and lands a hard left of his own. Henderson now pumping the right jab, and he follows it up with some hard body kicks and a strong left straight. A leg kick and a hard right hand in retaliation from Edgar. Both men backing off a bit, as they are showing fatigue. Edgar comes flying in, but Henderson perfectly times a takedown. Henderson moves to side control. Edgar throw him off. Again, Edgar flies in, but “Smooth” is ready with the takedown. Henderson must feel he needs this round, as he's really grinding it out.

On the bottom, Edgar tries to throw Henderson off, but Henderson will have none of it. More elbows from Henderson. Edgar is cut. Now Henderson mounts Edgar. Edgar is desperate and throws Henderson off. The challenger flies in for a late takedown, but Henderson is waiting and gets the takdedown himself. Again, Henderson into side control to end the fight.

Decision

After five rounds, the winner by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47), and still lightweight champion, Ben “Smooth” Henderson.

Analysis

In a lot of ways, this fight was similar to how the first encounter played out, with a lot of even exchanges. Henderson landed more damage to the head (87% to 48%), and he gained 11 takedowns. His strike output was definitely higher, as he landed twice as many kicks as Edgar did, as well as a few more punches. He also rocked Edgar once, and he dropped him a couple of times throughout the fight as well.

As for Edgar, he went for hooks and body punches, and he definitely tried to counter a bit too much. His reversals, transitions and dominant positions were notably higher, but he could never maintain the positions once he got them. Additionally, while he scrambled defensively better than Henderson, he never got full mount, which Henderson did three or four times.

It seemed that Edgar had won the first two rounds, but Henderson upped his strike output and utilized throws to gain the last three rounds. A fun, competitive fight, so hopefully the actual rematch gives us something worth talking about.