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Henderson

Gregg Mullen returns to bring his unfiltered thoughts on some of the latest MMA news in this weekly #RoundUp:

Apologies everyone for missing last week, due to personal reasons, but I’m back! This week has actually been pretty tame in comparison to what has been going on recently so let’s start with the only major event that took place.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 79

FN 79 saw the return of ‘The Once and Future King’ “Smooth” Benson Henderson.

Stepping up once again to welterweight, Ben actually fought a guy in similar size in Jorge Masvidal, who had also recently moved up from lightweight. In typical Bendo fashion the fight was a close, technical encounter and went to a split decision with Henderson picking up the W on two of the three judges’ cards.

The biggest takeaway, however, is that this was the last fight on Benson’s UFC contract and he is now a free agent. Laying his gloves in the middle of the cage before walking off, could a guy who is a perennial contender in two divisions, who once held the lightweight title and spoke openly of wanting to break records, really be saying goodbye to the UFC and its fans? He wouldn’t be the first, think Phil Davis, and he probably wouldn’t be the last,

The full UFC FN 79 results are as follows:
Main card
Benson Henderson def. Jorge Masvidal via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)
Dong Hyun Kim def. Dominic Waters via TKO (punches) at 3:11 of R1
Alberto Mina def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Doo Ho Choi def. Sam Sicilia via TKO (punches) at 1:33 of R1
Undercard 
Dongi Yang def. Jake Collier via TKO (punches) at 1:50 of R2
Mike de la Torre def. Yui Chul Nam via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Tae Hyun Bang def. Leo Kuntz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Seo Hee Ham def. Cortney Casey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fredy Serrano def. Yao Zhikui via TKO (injury) at :44 of R1
Marco Beltran def. Ning Guangyou via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Dominique Steele def. Maestro Dong Hyun Kim via KO (slam) at :37 of R3

RIZIN

Rizin FF have done it again. They’ve pulled off a coup. They have put together one of the rematches that fans have been clamoring for since New Year’s Eve 2003! Nobayuki Sakakibara has done what no one else could (or probably what no one else wanted to) and put together Bob Sapp vs Akebono 2!

*yawn*

Akebono was once a great sumo but was never a good fighter. He was merely a draw to Japanese fans due to his success in the world of sumo, but went 0-4 in MMA and 1-8 in kickboxing, with the one win coming against a referee; True story.

Bob Sapp found success early in his career and his battle with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will always live on in history. He became the biggest draw in Japan at one stage and was all over TV, they took to him due to his size and monstrous look. He was never on the top level though and lost to pretty much every good fighter he ever fought. At the end he lost 13 of his last 14 fights in kickboxing and 15 of 16 in MMA. His legacy is tarnished and he became the joke of the sport with all of the losses coming in the first round. Many within the sport felt he was taking dives for money, something he later admitted to.

So there we have it, two 40-something year olds with a history of losing… The anticipation is unbearable!

Bellator to continue cross-promoting

Bellator announced last week that they would travel to the UK, Italy, and Israel, and they now have a date for the first of the three.

Set to take place on April 16 at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy, The promotion will co-promote the event with the Italian based Oktagon Kickboxing. The event will feature both MMA and kickboxing bouts and will be a spectacle similar to the Dynamite showcase Bellator and Glory put on earlier this year, only on a smaller scale. Alessio Sakara has been brought in by Scott Coker for the event and will likely have a high billing on the card given he is the most recognisable face in Italian MMA.

Goodbye, Cathal Pendred

In what is becoming more and more normal in our sport, another young man has retired from competition. Cathal Pendred is only 28, has held the Cage Warriors title and had some early success in the UFC, but has decided the time is right to hang up his gloves. Citing a lack of passion and motivation, Pendred leaves the sport with a 17-4-1 record. All of us here at MMA Plus wish Cathal all the best in his future.

As always you can hit me up @GeeMullen on twitter.