In a fight three years in the waiting, Anthony Pettis made sure he would still come out on top against Ben Henderson. It was a quick work this time around, as Pettis used an arm bar to submit his rival at the 4:31 mark of the first round to become the UFC's top lightweight fighter on Saturday at UFC 164.
Henderson entered the match as the universally recognized top lightweight in the MMA world, but the ghost of the past continued to haunt him all the way inside the octagon.
Pettis, who already defeated Henderson via unanimous decision in an action-packed lightweight championship in the final event of WEC, got a significant boost from the home crowd in Milwaukee as he dominated the opening sequence of action.
"I grew up coming to this arena," said Pettis, who lives and trains in Milwaukee. "I remember sitting in the nosebleeds. So this is for all you in the nosebleeds."
Pettis and Henderson engaged in a long stalemate along the fence, but the action began to heat up after the challenger connected three hard kicks on the champ's body, including a hard knee to the chest.
Henderson responded with a takedown after catching Pettis' awkward cartwheel kick. Unfortunately for the half-Korean MMA fighter, the hometown kid caught his arm and the rest his history.
"I'll be back, don't worry," Henderson said after the loss, according to ESPN. "Anthony is a tough dude. He proved himself to be the No. 1 contender and he proved to be a champion. He got my arm and did a good job of twisting it in the right direction."
Henderson successfully defended the lightweight title three times (tied with B.J Penn), but Pettis simply got his numbers every time they faced each other inside the ring.
Meanwhile, Josh Barnett made a successful return in the UFC after scoring a TKO win over former Heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Barnett launched a flurry of assaults right from the opening bell and then followed it up with a devastating knee that forced referee Robert Hinds to stop the contest at 1:56 mark of the first round.
Barnett successfully won his first bout inside the UFC Octagon since defeating MMA legend Randy Couture in their heavyweight title fight at UFC 36 in 2002.
UFC 164 - Main Fight Card Results
Lightweight: Anthony Pettis (New UFC Champion) wins over Ben Henderson via submission (armbar) at 4:31 mark of 1st round
Heavyweight: Josh Barnett wins over Frank Mir via TKO punches at 1:56 mark of 1st round.
Featherweight: Chad Mendes wins over Clay Guida via TKO punches at 0:30 mark of 3rd round.
Heavyweight: Ben Rothwell wins over Brandon Vera via TKO punches at 1:54 mark of 3rd round
Featherweight: Dustin Poireir wins over Erik Koch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)