Michael Chandler is no stranger to a classic lightweight championship fight, and he found himself in another one on Saturday.
Chandler (16-3) defended the Bellator MMA title for the first time Saturday, when he defeated former UFC champion Benson Henderson via split decision. The 155-pound title fight headlined Bellator 165 at SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Two of the three judges scored the fight for Chandler by scores of 48-47 and 48-46. A third judge had it 48-46 in favor of Henderson. ESPN.com scored it 47-46, Chandler.
Chandler, a two-time Bellator champion, apologized for the close scorecards. The crowd booed, even though Chandler had finished one of the best fights of 2016.
"Benson is a heck of a competitor," Chandlers said. "Hey, you can't be perfect in here. You have to find a way to win. Sorry to everybody who's disappointed. I will get better. I will come back. Don't be mad at me, I just bring it."
Henderson (24-7) celebrated as soon as the bout was over. After the scorecards were read, he walked away from Chandler and leaned heavily on the side of the cage. The Arizona-based lightweight is 1-2 since signing with Bellator. His other loss came to former welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov.
The back-and-forth affair nearly didn't make it out of the first round. Chandler dominated Henderson early, hurting him with several hard right hands across the chin and scored a huge suplex, after stuffing several takedowns attempts. Chandler also caught Henderson in a power guillotine but couldn't finish it.
Henderson responded well in the second round, but momentum mostly stayed with Chandler. He threatened to submit Henderson with another guillotine in the third and out-wrestled him in the fourth. Prior to the fifth, however, Chandler looked exhausted and had trouble getting back to his corner.
Sensing an opportunity, Henderson pushed the pace in the final round. He took Chandler's back with three minutes to work but lost position moments later. Chandler did little offense in the final five minutes, while Henderson's output seemed to increase.
A rematch will be a possibility for Bellator; however, Chandler also called out San Jose-based lightweight Josh Thomson. A former Strikeforce champion, Thomson is 2-0 with Bellator but hasn't fought since last December.
Chandler won his first Bellator championship in 2011, in an instant classic against then-champion Eddie Alvarez. Chandler defended his title twice before surrendering the belt back to Alvarez in 2013. Chandler reclaimed the title earlier this year.
"I do have to say, San Jose, if your boy Josh Thomson steps back into the cage and does not stand across the cage from me, he is an absolute coward," Chandler said. "I'd [also] love to run it back against Benson Henderson and put the pain on him next time."
Page squeaks past Gonzalez in lackluster fight
Michael 'Venom' Page has never struggled to entertain and win in MMA. He had a little trouble doing both Saturday.
Page (12-0) maintained his perfect pro record by defeating Fernando Gonzalez (25-14) via split decision. Two judges scored it for Page 29-28, while the other saw it completely different: 30-27 Gonzalez.
It was an awkward fight; neither fighter seemed willing to really mix it up. Gonzalez stayed well on the outside in the first and second rounds before finally pressing the action in the third. Page also hung back, stringing together feints and dance moves from a distance. His offense came mostly in the form of rangy kicks, which never really hurt Gonzalez.
The California crowd booed the entire welterweight affair. Page, nevertheless, improved to 7-0 in the Bellator cage. It is the first time he has failed to finish a fight since October 2014.
Melendez scores first-round knockout in pro debut
Keri Melendez (1-0), wife of UFC lightweight Gilbert Melendez, earned a first-round knockout in her professional MMA debut.
A former professional kickboxer, Melendez, 32, went after strawweight Sheila Padilla (2-1) early, throwing the right behind the jab.
The finish came just 47 seconds in, as Melendez landed a flush right hand that dropped Padilla. Melendez followed with another punch, but it was clear Padilla was done after the initial shot.