Anthony Pettis Scores Third career Victory over Ben Henderson – Karate Combat 43 (Highlights)
More than a decade removed from their lightweight title clash at UFC 164, Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson ran it back inside The Pit at Karate Combat 43 on Friday night.
The opening round saw both fighters offer little offense as they got familiar with their surroundings. Still, the pace picked up significantly in the second round with Henderson looking to get in and out with his striking. Henderson’s game plan began paying dividends in the third as he began to control the pace of the fight and seemingly run away with it on the scorecards.
However, Pettis was far from out of it, landing a solid head kick in the fourth round, though that did not deter Henderson from staying on the attack.
In the fifth and final round, Henderson came out aggressive, pressuring Pettis to the ground and unloading a series of strikes before ‘Showtime’ was allowed back to his feet. Pettis snapped back with a big 1-2 combination that popped Henderson’s head back with 100 seconds left in the fight. As the clock winded down, both fighters began to let their fists go with Henderson once again coming out on top in the striking exchange by landing the better blows despite giving up the advantage on volume.
In a shocking turn of events, we went to a sudden death sixth round to determine the winner.
Pettis came out with a renewed sense of confidence and began targeting the body of Henderson while ‘Bendo’ was beginning to overcommit with his strikes. In the end, Pettis appeared to land the more significant blows in the sixth which was more than enough for the judges to give him the nod in a very close and somewhat controversial decision.
Official Result: Anthony Pettis def. Ben Henderson via unanimous decision
Check Out Highlights From Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson at KC43 Below:
After a sudden death round, Anthony Pettis defeats Benson Henderson by unanimous decision going 3-0 in the trilogy!
Do you agrees with the judges? #KC43 pic.twitter.com/Q0jMC9gBbp
— Combat Sports Today 📰 (@CSTodayNews) December 16, 2023
