MMA Twitter gushes over Anthony Pettis win versus Benson Henderson at Karate Combat (Video)
By Jaren Kawada
Over a decade since their first meeting, Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson fought for a third time in three different promotions and have finally seemed to end their rivalry.
As two of the best lightweights of all time, Pettis and Henderson competed in MMA two times, both for world championships. However, the announcement of their karate fight surprised everyone as Henderson announced his retirement from fighting after his loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in March.
Headlining the biggest fight card in Karate Combat history, Pettis defeated Henderson once more by decision after going into an overtime round. Pettis' power and pressure prevailed by a razor-thin margin as the two fighters went back and forth throughout.
First meeting in 2010, Pettis defeated Henderson by unanimous decision to claim the WEC Lightweight Championship belt. The two would find themselves opposite of each other just three years later, with Pettis winning once again, this time by submission. Pettis would also take a championship off of Henderson in the second fight and became the UFC Lightweight Champion.
Though Henderson left the UFC in 2016, Pettis would remain with the promotion until 2021 when he attempted to win the PFL lightweight tournament. The Milwaukee native would go just 1-4 in the smart cage before venturing into boxing and winning a decision over Roy Jones Jr.
Unlike Henderson, Pettis has not officially retired from MMA, though does not seem likely to return. The Karate Combat 43 main event was the promotional debut of both fighters.
With Pettis now winning his karate debut after a successful professional boxing debut, Twitter had a lot to say about the trilogy fight.