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Nate Diaz and Ben Henderson Compare Each Others Game

5K views 50 replies 32 participants last post by  Grotty 
#1 ·
Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten spoke with Benson Henderson, while Ron Kruck spoke with Nate Diaz as each fighter gave their early thoughts on their upcoming title fight.


Yeah, **** the belt!
 
#2 ·
I think a lot of people overrate why the Diaz bros taunt in the ring. It's not to make their opponent emotional, it's because THEY are emotional. You're walking away, both Nate and Nick are saying "Get the **** back over here and let me punch you in the face". They will drop their hands to make you throw, but that's just counter punching, not really something new and different.

I'm really excited for this fight. I would edge it to Diaz to begin with, but for Diaz fans this is as good as it gets.
 
#6 ·
I'm not sure why I didn't consider this before... but in the beginning of the interview Diaz made it seem like he wasn't to keen on the idea of fighting Frankie. Are they buddies or is he just admitting to a bad stylistic matchup?

I would love to see that fight. Frankie would have a clear wrestling advantage but I'd love to see the 2 guys box it out.
 
#7 ·
I said this in another thread actually, Frankie is HARD TO FINISH. His style makes it hard to catch him, even when he is rocked, his stumbling and backflipping around the cage is somehow still faster than most of his opposition. Point is Diaz brothers don't tend to do well in decision fights and Frankie's fights traditionally go that way. So I see his concern with wanting that fight.
 
#10 ·
Henderson's strategy will be: leg kicks, leg kicks, TDs.

Diaz has a history of having problems against bigger, stronger guys, who have a good wrestling game: Rory, Kim, Guida, Maynard.

Henderson falls in the same cathegory.

I give Diaz the advantage in the striking department...but at the end of the day he is no Frankie Edgar, even though his boxing is top notch, he doesn't have the speed that Frankie has, and that was what caused Henderson a lot of problems in his fight against Frankie.

If Henderson is smart, he will take it to the ground and try to use heavy GnP, similar to Rory.

Either way, should be a good fight.

My money is on Henderson.
 
#13 ·
Wasn't everyone saying that Jim Millers wrestling was going to best Diaz?

Weren't people saying the cowboys kicks and more well rounded striking was going to best Nate?

Neither happened.

Unless Bendo wants to play tag and run, which I'm confident he won't, he loses this fight 9/10.

I don't think fans can appreciate just how impressive his dominant victories over Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone were.

Submitting and dominating Miller like that was incredibly impressive and really shown the evolution of Nates elite, world class grappling game.

The cowboy is one of the best strikers in the LW division and Nate absolutely steam rolled him.

Bendo had struggled with Cerrone in the first fight (a fight quite a few people think cowboy won) and had a gruelling fight with Jim Miller, where Nate made light work of him and finished him in the second round.

I admire both fighters, but I'm a Diaz fan through and through. He's taking that belt.
 
#22 ·
Diaz got this. Bendo's kicking strategy was catching Edgar, shame he could only execute the gameplan for one round before abandoning it due to Frankie's pressure.

Diaz brings more pressure and the ability to strike from further away, I can't see Bendo outsmarting or hurting him on the feet. Unfortunately Bendo is striking more and more, forgetting what got him to where he is - being unpredictable and taking the fight seamlessly from feet to ground/vice versa. Similar to Jon Jones.

I think if there is a takedown attempt in this fight, it'll likely be initiated by Bendo due to getting beat on the feet. If he takes Diaz down in a panic or when he's rocked, chances are he'll be submitted.

Bendo is a tough fight for any LW but I think Diaz is a very tough fight for him.
 
#23 ·
You know what's funny. I actually wanted to see Edgar vs Diaz even though I picked Bendo to win. I think Bendo is gonna drill em with his kicks and take it to the ground. He seems pretty confident with his submission defense so expect him to be controlling him on the ground for majority of the rounds to a UD win. Only way I see it ending for Diaz is if Bendo gets cocky and becomes a "stupid donkey" like Chael...ahaha!

As I said though if Diaz and Cerrone both win I'll be laughing my ass off. I was hella surprised Diaz took it to Cerrone. I wonder what it is that confuses their opponents. I'm watching it, but I'm still scratching my head. I mean look at BJ, Paul Daley, Zaromskis, Cerrone, and even the Irish Hand Grenade whom was an amateur boxer. They all looked pretty sub par against the Diaz Bros.
 
#36 ·
Both a durable, tough fighters. So it should be a very good fight.

But if anyone is finishing anyone it will be Nate finishing Henderson.

I think Henderson has a way of winning by kicking and running and getting useless takedowns that he does nothing with. He should be able to kick Nate's front leg whenever he wants. And his wrestling should be enough to take Nate down.

If I were Henderson I would try to absolutely destroy Nate's leg for 3 rounds before doing anything else. I would avoid the ground if possible.
 
#37 ·
I'm going to predict Bendo destroying Nate's legs which would be the obvious thing to do since Nate doesn't check leg kicks, and then making Nate his bitch via wrestle ******* him harder then Rory did, anyone who thinks different is delusional.
 
#41 ·
One thing is for sure is that Nate is going to have sore legs after this fight. He's not even going to try and defend them. It will just be him walking through and telling Bendo to stop being a bitch and start throwing some punches.

I didn't watch a lot of WEC, but what I've seen from Bendo sof ar is that he likes to move back a bit, throw the leg kicks and stay technical with his striking. I think the main thing to underline is moving back. It's the worst thing you can do against a Diaz bro because you can find yourself against the cage before you know it. When you're on the back foot, Diaz will drop his hands and start teeing off with the stockton slap.

I don't think Diaz will sub Bendo, but I don't think Ben will be so quick to take it to the ground. I think he'll like to keep it standing and try to be as technical as possible, and he will probably win the first two rounds by digging in the leg kicks. As Diaz doesnt use any real footwork or kicks, the damaged legs won't really be his biggest concern.

I think (and hope) that in the 3rd, like Frankie did, Diaz will stand finding some success. Bendo can get a big complacent and I think Nate will capitalize. He'll be pouring on the pressure, backing Bendo up and then hammering away with the usual combinations.

I seen someone earlier in this thread mention his speed, but even though the fight 'wrong', speed isn't someone Diaz needs. He doesn't fight like that. The punches are long and accurate, and the angles can leave the opponent unsuspecting. The hands at his side style isn't something many fighters have come across and they will be letting their own hands hover south without even noticing it.

VERY interesting fight though.

WAR DIAZ!
 
#46 ·
Im sure Diaz has been working on his wrestling, its a 5 rounder which i feel will be beneficial to both men in the sense i dont feel this fight is going to end quick, this fight will be won in the later rounds, i feel round 4 will be the round to decide the fight.
I hope the game plan is adequate, i can see a similar Condit vs Nick Diaz type strategy coming from Henderson.
I favour Nate on this one, i dont think either fighter has any drastic advantage over the other so this fight will be good.
 
#50 ·
To me, going back on Nate's history isn't really relevent. From Gomi until now, he's been dominant. When we seen him getting thrown everyone by Rory MacDonald, no one really expected him to earn a title shot, let alone demolish Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone. Nate is a new fighter now. He's focused, his striking is now 100% up to part with Nick's and he has always has great submissions off of his back. With the striking now reaching it's full potential I think he can stop people from using their wrestling a lot better.

I don't think Bendo will go for wrestling anyways. He will be put on the back foor which makes takedowns quite predictable. He is best to use his footwork and move around the ring, digging in hard leg kicks until he takes the decision. Sort of like a steroid enduced version of what Condit did. Bendo isn't going to run away or tip tap with leg kicks so he would take a more clear decision if the fight plays out that way.
 
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