The Ultimate Fighting Championship will touch down in the Land of the Rising Sun for the first time in more than a decade on Saturday, as lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defends his 155-pound belt against former World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Ben Henderson in the UFC 144 main event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Unbeaten in his past seven appearances, Edgar (14-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC) last fought at UFC 136 in October, when he closed out his memorable trilogy with Gray Maynard by knocking out “The Bully” in the fourth round at the Toyota Center in Houston. Wins over former two-division UFC titleholder B.J. Penn (twice), onetime UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and AMA Fight Club standout Jim Miller anchor the 30-year-old Toms River, N.J., native’s resume. Edgar, who now trains under former middleweight King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida, wrestled collegiately at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he was a four-time national qualifier.
Henderson (15-2, 3-0 UFC) has recorded 13 wins in his last 14 outings. The 28-year-old trains under Royce Gracie protégé John Crouch at the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz. Henderson has secured 10 of his 15 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. He was a two-time collegiate All-American wrestler at Dana College in Nebraska.
Want to know how all 12 of the UFC 144 matchups are trending in the game? Check out all the information here:
Sherdog MMA Pick’Em Trends: UFC 144 Main Card
Sherdog MMA Pick’Em Trends: UFC 144 Prelims