5 best UFC shows on Fox

#3 UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz – 12/08/2012

Benson Henderson's win over Nate Diaz was a masterful performance

Prior to this show in December 2012, the UFC had come under criticism for not putting enough “big” fights and names on Fox, as the previous three shows had done poorly in television ratings despite having some excellent action. This was evidently the promotion’s answer to those critics, as we were given a stacked card headlined by a major title fight.

The title fight in question? Benson Henderson defended his UFC Lightweight crown against Nate Diaz in a masterful display, as he used his low kicks, wrestling and overall striking to dominate the challenger from buzzer-to-buzzer, even having him on the verge of being finished on a couple of occasions. The fight marked Henderson’s second successful title defense and made him into a bonafide UFC headliner for some time.

The main card also saw a pair of ‘legend vs. prospect’ fights, as Alexander Gustafsson and Rory MacDonald picked up their biggest wins to that point over former champions Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and BJ Penn respectively. Although both fights went the distance, they were hugely entertaining too – particularly Gustafsson vs. Shogun, a throwback to when 205lbs was the premier division in MMA.

And in the opener, Matt Brown showed flashes of the greatness he’d go onto later down the road by viciously knocking out veteran Mike Swick. It was the 4th in a 7-fight win streak for ‘The Immortal’.

Often stacked cards in MMA don’t always work out – but this one certainly did and Seattle, Washington was given a genuine classic show.