- Anthony Pettis outperformed Benson Henderson in their trilogy match at Karate Combat 43
- Sam Alvey became the promotion’s first-ever heavyweight champion
Anthony Pettis beat Benson Henderson in their trilogy bout at Karate Combat 43, while Sam Alvey triumphantly captured the title in the promotion’s inaugural heavyweight championship bout.
Showtime prevails for the third time
Fellow former UFC champions Pettis and Henderson squared off for the third time in their careers but this time, the bout did not take place inside the cage. Instead, the pair took each other for six rounds at Karate Combat 43 Friday at The Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas.
As expected, “Showtime” and “Smooth” spent the opening round gauging each other but Pettis was looking for a highlight-reel finish with his flashy kicks. Henderson answered back in Round 2 with some powerful leg kicks but Pettis was able to answer with a combination of some loaded kicks and punches.
Round3 was close but Henderson unloaded some more power kicks in the fourth and had Pettis into the wall twice. However, a low blow resulted in a pause.
“Smooth” started Round 5 aggressively and sent “Showtime” to the wall and down to the ground. However, Pettis refused to back down and retaliated with some fancy attacks once again.
After five rounds of battle, Henderson and Pettis reached the sudden victory sixth round. Both still fought their guts out but according to the Karate Combat rules, the fighter with more convincing performance in the sudden victory round would be the winner. As it turns out, the judges reckoned that Pettis did a better job than Henderson.
Pettis was then declared the winner via decision.
Pettis and Henderson first fought at WEC 53 with “Showtime” winning via decision. They faced each other once again at UFC 164 and Pettis edged Henderson again via decision.
See some highlights below:
Anthony Pettis seems right at home in the Karate Combat pit. This could get VERY fun#KarateCombat43 pic.twitter.com/YcNgIS6cOj
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 16, 2023
Showtime Pettis gets it done AGAIN!! What's next for the lifelong rivals?! The FPI mat?!#KarateCombat43 pic.twitter.com/uaAPbH6pYj
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 16, 2023
Sam becomes a champ
In the co-main event, Alvey dominated his opponent Ross Lavine to become Karate Combat’s first-ever heavyweight champion. Alvey was able to capitalize on his size advantage and connected with some powerful punches both on the feet and on the ground. He was then declared winner via decision.
Sam Alvey is the new Karate Combat heavyweight champion 🏆 #KC43 pic.twitter.com/dJsSfrM0AH
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) December 16, 2023
After winning the title, “Smile’n” called Darren Till out to become his opponent when he defends his heavyweight belt for the first time.
It’s safe to say Henderson, Pettis and Alvey have now found a new lease on life with Karate Combat. Judging by how successful they were at Karate Combat 43, it is expected that they star again in the succeeding events.
Check out the full event below:
