Benson Henderson executed the perfect game plan against Nate Diaz, using powerful kicks early to neutralize the boxing of the challenger on his way to a lopsided unanimous decision victory to retain his title in the main event of UFC on Fox 5.
Henderson employed leg kicks to slow down the mobility and punch production of Nate Diaz from the bell. The leg kicks were so effective that Diaz never got on track with his patented brand of volume boxing. Henderson was just as dominating in the clinch, wearing on Diaz with his strength and landing punishing knees to the thighs, while mixing in takedowns to dominate the action early.
The champion continued to execute perfectly to open the second, peppering Diaz with leg kicks that forced the challenger to switch stances early on. Henderson then went to his takedowns and battered Diaz with measured ground-and-pound while avoiding the dangerous submission game of his opponent.
The third stanza looked much like the previous rounds as Henderson gained even more confidence. Diaz threatened with a leg lock after being taken down, but in true Henderson fashion, he proved nearly impossible to submit as he showed off his superb submission defense. After getting back to their feet, Henderson dropped Diaz with a winging right hand and again managed to establish control on the ground heading into the championship rounds.
Diaz still had no answer for Henderson in the fourth. Henderson secured his hands around the waist of Diaz early and slammed him to the mat before picking up where he left off in the previous rounds. The final round played out much the same way as Diaz tried desperately to mount any kind of significant offense. He failed to do just that as time wore down on the bout, as Henderson limited Diaz to his lowest output of strikes in his UFC career.
With scores of 50-43, 50-45, and 50-45, Benson Henderson again walked out of the octagon with his championship belt around his waste. The dominating performance for the defending champion improves his record to 18-2 overall and keeps him perfect in the UFC at 6-0.