The UFC Fight Night 59 card scheduled for Boston on January 18th will feature a co-main event in the Lightweight division as Eddie Alvarez faces off against Benson Henderson in a battle between to men at a crossroads in their UFC career.
Alvarez is coming off a loss in his UFC debut, losing a decision to the Donald Cerrone. Alvarez was definitely able to flash some of what makes him special in that bout, but the bottom line is that he lost, and he does not want to go (0-2) to start off his career in the UFC. He has never lost two in a row before in his career and a loss here would be a huge setback.
The UFC is not doing Alvarez any favors in terms of matchmaking, as Henderson is another front line, top-five lightweight contender. Whereas Cerrone likes to fight chaotically, Henderson certainly is a more controlled and cerebral fighter. It is a very different fight for Alvarez, and one that could go either way. The books have not put a line up on this one, but Henderson has a very good chance of being favored in this fight.
Henderson was being forced to keep winning to earn a title shot, perhaps because of his penchant to score split decisions or perhaps it is because in losing his belt to Anthony Pettis, he barely put up a fight. Henderson not only won the belt, he defended it three times, which could be considered enough to warrant a re-match, but the UFC instead gave him Josh Thomson and Rustam Khabilov. He won those fights, but no one even talked a return title shot, so he fought Rafael Dos Anjos and he lost.
So now both men must meet knowing that the organization can be tough to deal with after two losses in a row. And both men aren’t getting any positive vibes the company can spin a win or a loss for either to their benefit.
Here is a nice five minute piece on Benson Henderson, perhaps a role-model type personality that the UFC under-used as champion, since he doesn’t have the bombast of a Conor McGregor:
