Two champions battled for supremacy last night (April 20, 2013) as UFC lightweight champ Ben Henderson took on Strikeforce titleholder Gilbert Melendez in the main event of UFC on Fox 7 in San Jose, California.
Melendez had looked a bit unmotivated in his last two fights, turning in a pair of ugly title defenses in Strikeforce as competition waned.
But there was no better motivation than making your UFC debut in your former Strikeforce home of the HP Pavilion against the UFC champion.
"El Nino" got off to a hot start, pushing the pace and connecting with power every time Henderson tried to get anything going either with his punches on the feet or with his powerful kicks.
Melendez countered Henderson heavily, punishing him for every opening and scoring with his crisp boxing, particularly his powerful right hand.
By the second round, Melendez had bloodied up the champion's nose and it looked like an upset may be brewing, but that was the point where the UFC champion started to wake up.
Henderson's output increased in round three, and with both fighters evenly trading on the feet, it was a huge flurry by the "Smooth" one after knocking the Strikeforce champ down with a leg kick that helped him seal the deal. Unfortunately for Melendez, he got some terrible advice from his corner who told him he was up three rounds to none despite both rounds two and three being hotly contested.
For complete UFC on Fox 7 Finale results, including blow-by-blow, fight-by-fight coverage of the entire event as well as immediate post-fight reaction click here, here and here.
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