Well UFC 144 is in the books and what an event it was! The UFC returned to Japan for the first time under Zuffa's ownership and Dana White's management and put on a hell of a show for a sold-out Saitama Super Arena full of 20,000 Japanese fans. The Japanese audience was all class as usual -- quiet as a mouse most of the time, then erupting in roars to show their appreciation for skill, heart and technique.
Newly crowned lightweight champ Ben Henderson took a unanimous decision, but not without some controversy as Dana and Silva thought Frankie should've won. The judges disagreed and Henderson takes the belt home from Japan.
He's likely to have to face his old WEC rival Anthony Pettis in his first defense after Pettis made short work of Joe Lauzon. Heavyweight Mark Hunt continued his improbable rise with a KO of Cheick Kongo.
Hatsu Hioki notched a big win that has him in the featherweight title hunt and Takanori Gomi came back to get a KO. Kid Yamamoto and Yushin Okami both were finished in their fights and Yoshihiro Akiyama dropped a decision to Jake Shields.
Without futher ado, here's Bloody Elbow's coverage of the event:
The Event
- Live Results And Play-By-Play For PPV Card - Brent Brookhouse
- Live Results And Play-By-Play For Undercard - Brent Brookhouse
- Ben Henderson Defeats Frankie Edgar, Wins Lightweight Belt - Matthew Roth
- Ryan Bader Dominates Rampage Jackson To Decision - Matthew Roth
- Jake Shields Wins Hard Fought Decision Over Yoshihiro Akiyama - Matthew Roth
- Mark Hunt Knocks Out Cheick Kongo In The First Round - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Tim Boetsch Upsets Yushin Okami In The Third Round - Matthew Roth
- Hatsu Hioki Defeats Bart Palaszewski By Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth
- Anthony Pettis Knocks Out Joe Lauzon In The First Round - Matthew Roth
- Takanori Gomi Stops Eiji Mitsuoka In The Second - Matthew Roth
- Vaughan Lee Submits Kid Yamamoto With An Armbar - Matthew Roth
- Riki Fukuda Dominates Steve Cantwell To Decision - Matthew Roth
- Chris Cariaso Defeats Takeya Mizugaki By Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth
- Issei Tamura Knocks Out Tiequan Zhang - Matthew Roth
Analysis
- Winners, Losers, And Other Thoughts - Matthew Roth
- Rampage Jackson Goes Out Like A Lamb In Loss To Ryan Bader - Nate Wilcox
- Edgar Vs. Henderson Results And Post-Fight Analysis - Brent Brookhouse
- Mark Hunt's Improbable Rise To Contention In The UFC - Kid Nate
- Gomi Wins, Akiyama, Yamamoto And Okami Come Up Just Short - Kid Nate
- Ben Henderson Win Proves The Value Of The WEC - Fraser Coffeen
- Sunday Morning Perspective - T.P. Grant
Multi-Media
- Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio - Episode 139: UFC 144 Results Review
- UFC 144 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- UFC 144 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- UFC Japan Video: Georges St. Pierre Gets Attacked By A Mob Of Kids With Samurai Foam Swords
Aftermath
- Frankie Edgar Doesn't 'Need' To Drop To Featherweight - Brent Brookhouse
- Ben Henderson And Anthony Pettis Ready For Rematch - Nate Wilcox
- Dana White Says Anthony Pettis Will 'Likely' Get Next UFC Lightweight Title Shot - Bloody Elbow
- Fights To Make Following Edgar Vs. Henderson - Matthew Roth
- Hatsu Hioki Is Japan's Last Best Hope For A UFC Title - Kid Nate
SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson