UFC lightweight Benson “Smooth” Henderson improved his mixed martial arts record to 21-3 last Saturday night, June 7, with a victory over #11 ranked Rustam Khabilov. The fight was a major step up in competition for the Khabilov, who hung in there impressively with Henderson before succumbing to a rear naked choke in the fourth round.

This was Henderson’s first finish since he submitted Donald Cerrone way back in December 2010 at WEC 53, and it was exactly what he needed to stay relevant in the title picture. Coming into the bout Henderson was 8-1 in the UFC, but 0-2 against current UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis with three of his eight victories being highly-contested split decisions.

These were the death knells for Henderson’s hopes for another title shot, but with an emphatic, decisive victory, as well as a post-fight call out of the champ’s inactivity (Henderson has fought twice since he lost the belt to Pettis; the champion won’t step inside the Octagon until December of this year), Henderson did all he possibly could to raise his stock. For his part, Pettis seems intrigued by a trilogy bout with Henderson.

Still, I think it’s safe to say that Pettis’s enthusiasm about Henderson’s victory is not exactly shared by the rest of the parties involved, namely the remainder of the lightweight division and UFC brass.

For his fellow combatants, Henderson remains the all imposing roadblock, an abyss where title hopes go to die (well, except for a certain eagle who believes he can soar above it; but more on that later). He has a grinding style with the sort of cardio that few if any in the sport can match. And even when you think you’ve gotten the best of him, something fighters such as Frankie Edgar, Gilbert Melendez, and Josh Thompson can attest to, the judges still see it his way.

For the UFC, Henderson remains a promotional quagmire in the vein of some sort of Jon Fitch/Rich Franklin hybrid. He’s 0-2 against the champion and his fights are considered less than appealing by the majority of MMA fans, but he seems poised to knock off contenders left and right for the foreseeable future.

From here, the promotion can book him one of two ways. They can decide he’s beaten one contender too many and book him in “fun fights,” that dreaded term that is usually the forbearer to the end divisional relevancy, against guys such as Donald Cerrone, Jim Miller, and the like.

Or, they can book him meritocratically and have him continue to serve as the unexplored deep waters where contenders swimming further and further out from shore learn what they are truly made of. If this is the route they decide, one Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, Dagestani brethren of the aforementioned Rustam Khabilov, would be the perfect matchup for Henderson.

Nurmagomedov is 22-0 in professional MMA competition, including six straight wins in the UFC, and boasts a unique Sambo fighting style that should prove challenging to Henderson. I’m of the opinion that Nurmagomedov has the best chance in the UFC of dethroning Pettis, but that doesn’t mean I think he should be protected from Henderson. Being champion means that you have proved you are the best of the best, not that you’re a recipient of favorable matchmaking. Both fighters have fought recently, are injury-free, and would have time to fight before the end of the year, lining them up for the next shot at the title.

We can continue to speculate as to how smooth the “The Eagle’s” ascent to the top of the UFC lightweight mountain may be, but there’s only one way to truly find out.

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