The Ultimate Fighting Championship shows off its tenth installment Saturday January 25th on FOX (Check local listings) at the United Center in Chicago. Former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting Lightweight Champion “Smooth” Benson Henderson (19-3) squares off against former WEC Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson (20-5) in the main event. The headliner was scheduled to be a title defense for current UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (17-2) against Thomson. However, Pettis was forced out of the fight due to injury. The main event between Henderson and Thomson may not be for a belt but there is plenty of pride on the line.
Henderson is coming off losing his belt to Pettis via a slick first round arm-bar submission and Thomson is riding a TKO stoppage victory over perennial threat Nate Diaz. Recent odds have Henderson as about a 2.5/1 favorite going into Saturday. Thomson might prove to be a good value bet with those odds considering he has above average takedown defense and good footwork to back it up. “The Punk” was a heavier underdog going into the Diaz fight and managed to stop a fighter that had never been stopped before in his career. For those not satisfied with the main event, Saturday’s fight card has plenty of intrigue.
Fan favorites like Gabriel Gonzaga, Donald Cerrone and Jeremy Stephens bolster the card, pre-main event. However, the undercard might provide the fight of the night between Eddie Wineland (20-9) and Yves Jabouin (19-8). Stylistically it should be a great fight. Both fighters favor offense over defense and like to open up with their striking. The undercard airs on FOX Sports 1 at 2PM Saturday. The main card will be going head-to-head with the National Hockey League’s debut of the Stadium Series featuring the Ducks playing the Kings at Dodger Stadium in the venue’s first ever hockey game.
By N.B.
