Post by James Hetfield on Nov 12, 2011 23:35:11 GMT -5
UFC Champ Frankie Edgar Faces Ben Henderson at Feburary's UFC Japan Event
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Nov 12, 2011 at 11:00 pm ET
ANAHEIM, Calif. – As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) will defend his belt in Japan.
And of course, after a stellar UFC on FOX win over Clay Guida, Ben Henderson (14-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will take the role of challenger.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking at Saturday's UFC on FOX post-event press conference and later stated the contest will serve as the main event for the February fight card.
To accommodate the traditional live North American broadcasting on Saturday night, Feb. 25, the event is expected to take place Sunday morning at 10 a.m. local time. Officials haven't determined broadcast plans or event naming for the show, and no broadcast plans have been announced for North America.
Edgar, of course, fought most recently at this past month's UFC 136 event, where he defeated top contender Gray Maynard via fourth-round TKO. The clash capped off an epic trilogy between the two, which ended in a dead heat at 1-1-1. However, with Edgar earning the lone stoppage in the series, many fans and pundits have put aside the need for a fourth meeting between the two rivals.
UFC 144 "EDGAR VS. HENDERSON (PPV/FX/Facebook.com Stream)
Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Japan
1. Featherweight bout: Tiequan Zhang vs. Issei Tamura
2. Bantamweight bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
3. Middleweight bout: Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
4. Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
5. Lightweight bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
6. Lightweight bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
7. Featherweight bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
8. Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
9. Welterweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
10. Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
11. Light Heavyweight bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
12. Lightweight Championship: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Ben Henderson
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Nov 12, 2011 at 11:00 pm ET
ANAHEIM, Calif. – As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) will defend his belt in Japan.
And of course, after a stellar UFC on FOX win over Clay Guida, Ben Henderson (14-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will take the role of challenger.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking at Saturday's UFC on FOX post-event press conference and later stated the contest will serve as the main event for the February fight card.
To accommodate the traditional live North American broadcasting on Saturday night, Feb. 25, the event is expected to take place Sunday morning at 10 a.m. local time. Officials haven't determined broadcast plans or event naming for the show, and no broadcast plans have been announced for North America.
Edgar, of course, fought most recently at this past month's UFC 136 event, where he defeated top contender Gray Maynard via fourth-round TKO. The clash capped off an epic trilogy between the two, which ended in a dead heat at 1-1-1. However, with Edgar earning the lone stoppage in the series, many fans and pundits have put aside the need for a fourth meeting between the two rivals.
UFC 144 "EDGAR VS. HENDERSON (PPV/FX/Facebook.com Stream)
Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Japan
1. Featherweight bout: Tiequan Zhang vs. Issei Tamura
2. Bantamweight bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
3. Middleweight bout: Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
4. Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
5. Lightweight bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
6. Lightweight bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
7. Featherweight bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
8. Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
9. Welterweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
10. Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
11. Light Heavyweight bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
12. Lightweight Championship: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Ben Henderson