Benson Henderson epitomised his 'smooth' moniker as he systematically picked apart Ireland's Peter Queally for five rounds in the main event of Bellator 285 in the 3 Arena on Friday evening.
The former UFC and WEC Lightweight champion was a class above 'the showstopper' and cruised to an unanimous decision with all three ringside judges scoring it 49-45 in favour of the American.
It was just twelve years ago that Waterford's Peter Queally was sleeping in his car trying to fit in training sessions however and whenever he could. As he he stood atop the stage last night, serenaded by a near 10,000 strong crowd to the tune of 'Zombie' by The Cranberries, it was clear that Queally was already a winner before he even stepped into the cage.
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Unfortunately, once the action began it became abundantly clear that there was only going to be one winner in this contest. The 38-year-old Henderson, a veteran of over 40 MMA fights, executed his gameplan perfectly, landing a number of heavy strikes to Queally's legs to slow the mobile Irishman down.
The 33-year-old, already badly cut from a barrage of elbows in round one, soon fell foul to an errant Henderson kick that caught him in the groin. Queally recovered and Henderson was docked a point, put it was inconsequential. The delay in action took the wind out of the 3 Arena's sails, and Henderson continued to wear down Queally with his attritional style.
Throughout, Henderson forced Queally's back up against the fence and butchered the Waterford star with a series of vicious elbows. This pattern continued well into the final stanza, and while Queally tried gamely to lock in a late guillotine choke but it was to no avail.
Afterwards, Henderson demanded a title shot and on the basis of this dominating performance it's hard to argue against it. Queally's future is much less certain, and with two defeats on the spin, it's hard to see where he goes from here.
On the undercard, hometown heroes could do no wrong as the Irish had a clean sweep of victories winning six fights out of six. The most impressive of wins came in the form of a devastating head kick knockout courtesy of Asael Adjoudj. The SBG fighter lived up to every bit of hype and at the age of just 23, a long and fruitful career under MMA's brightest lights looks a live possibility.
Earlier in the night, Drogheda's Ciarán Clarke was proving his toughness with yet another come from behind victory over Rafael Hudson. The Brazilian, who was named Clarke's opponent just six days prior to the fight, came out all guns blazing and dropped the 27-year-old in round one. Clarke however, regained his composure and put on a wrestling clinic in the second round, before finally securing the win with a rear naked choke in the third and final stanza.
Elsewhere on the card, Featherweight star Leah McCourt got back to winning ways with a unanimous decision win over Dayana Silva. The 30-year-old controlled the dull enough contest throughout and did well in the end to take home an important win.
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