Ben Henderson on Giving It Your All

Benson Henderson on giving everything you have in competition:
Proudest moment in the Octagon? What I like is...when you give everything you have, when you lay it all on the line, you don't hold anything back.

Top 5 pound for pound in MMA

Everyone has their opinion on who is the best pound for pound fighters in mixed martial arts. Here's ours.

1. Jon Jones

Jon Jones has shown that he's the greatest light-heavyweight ever in the UFC and is on his way to potential become the greatest of all time. He's almost cleared out the UFC's 205 pound division, and he has a very legitimate chance to move up to heavyweight and ascertain the most coveted title in combat sports: the UFC heavyweight gold.


2. Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre is Canada's most precious mixed martial arts resource. The Canadian champion of the UFC's welterweight division has defended the title an astounding eight times and is two shy of reaching Anderson Silva's mark of 10 title defenses.

3. Anderson Silva

The number one pound for pound king Anderson Silva now drops to the number three slot after being knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162. But Silva is still regarded by most as the greatest of all time, and has a chance to avenge his loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 168 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 28th.

4. Jose Aldo

It's surprising that Jose Aldo doesn't get as much love as other UFC champions, but the man is a killer featherweight fighter. Not only has he dominated 145, but he defeated the former UFC champion at 155 in Frankie Edgar, so he definitely is a fighter who could possibly jump up to lightweight and win a belt up there. A sign of a true pound for pound great.

5. Ben Henderson

Benson Henderson is a very unique fighter and individual. He is happy retiring at the age of 30, he fights with a toothpick in his mouth, proposes in the UFC Octagon, and lives by his rules and principles. We love him for all that. He has his goals and works very hard to achieve them. His work ethic was instilled in him by his tireless working mother and he follows those same precepts in every aspect of his life.

UFC 164: T.J Grant Injured, Anthony Pettis to take on Ben Henderson

Anthony Pettis has had a long strong road to the UFC lightweight title. "Showtime" was originally given a shot at the belt when he defeated Benson Henderson in December 2010 to win the WEC title. After the WEC merged into the UFC, Pettis was scheduled to take on the winner of the rematch between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, which took place at the beginning of 2011.But since the fight turned out to be a draw, the two were granted a third fight immediately by UFC president Dana White. Anthony Pettis decided he wasn't going to wait around to fight in the UFC and took on Clay Guida, a fight he would lose by decision.

Oddly enough, the man Pettis defeated to earn the title shot, Benson Henderson, would go on to win three straight impressively in the UFC, get his title shot, win the belt and defend it three times. But Pettis did bounce back with three wins of his own over Jeremy Stephens, Joe Lauzon, and Donald Cerrone. Pettis then campaigned for a title shot against Jose Aldo at 145, and was granted his wish, only to get injured and have to pull out. But now with T.J. Grant suffering a concussion injury in practice, Anthony Pettis is in to take on Ben Henderson at UFC 164 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on August 31st.

This long and unusual road for Anthony Pettis is something that is a very interesting one. He finally gets his title shot, and it's against the man he originally fought to earn it. Henderson is ecstatic about the rematch and can try and put the loss behind him and the memories and reminders about Anthony Pettis' famous "Showtime kick" off the cage which landed on Bendo in that fight in the fifth round, and was the deciding factor in Pettis getting the judges' decision.

Also on the UFC 164 card:

Josh Barnett vs Frank Mir
Clay Guida vs Chad Mendes
Erik Koch vs Dustin Poirier
Ben Rothwell vs Brandon Vera
Gleison Tibau vs Jamie Varner

Chris Weidman's Ultimate Goal in MMA

Once you reach the pinnacle of the sport of mixed martial arts and become a UFC champion, you have to continue to set new goals to stay hungry and motivated. That is what Chris Weidman is doing. It's something that Jon Jones has done in trying to become the record holder for having the most title defenses in UFC history at light-heavyweight. He has tied Tito Ortiz's record with five, and is looking to eclipse it at UFC 165 in Toronto when he defends his title against Swedish superstar Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafssson.

Additionally, you have Benson Henderson, the champion at 155, who has made it a goal to defend his title 11 times, which is one more time than Anderson Silva defended his. Keeping that goal in mind helps him stay motivated and excited for that new challenge.

Jon Jones shoots to number one in pound for pound rankings

Top 5 pound for pound in mixed martial arts:

1. Jon Jones
Jon Jones rockets to the number one slot after Chris Weidman knocks out Anderson Silva. Jon Jones takes a humble approach and says he's not interested in becoming the number one guy by someone else losing, and wants to achieve that status through his own actions.
 
2. Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre's eight fight title defense streak of his UFC welterweight belt keeps him at the number two spot. His biggest test in years comes against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167.


 
3. Anderson Silva
After a shocking knockout loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162, Anderson Silva drops to the number three slot in the pound for pound rankings.



4. Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo is a champion that few actually talk about, despite the fact that he's 22-1, hasn't lost since 2005, and is on a 15 fight win streak, and has four UFC featherweight title defenses.

5. Benson Henderson
Ben Henderson is a perfect 7-0 in the UFC and has defended his UFC lightweight belt three times.