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 cant be perfect in here. You have to find a way to win. Sorry to everybody whos disappointed. I will get better. I will come back. Dont 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 didnt 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 couldnt 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 Chandlers back with three minutes to work but lost position moments later. Chandler did little offense in the final five minutes, while Hendersons 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 hasnt 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. Id [also] love to run it back against Benson Henderson and put the pain on him next time.Page squeaks past Gonzalez in lackluster fightMichael 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 debutKeri 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. KWaun Williams Super Bowl Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Joe Staley Super Bowl Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. https://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Richard-Sherman-Jersey/ .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Jalen Hurd Super Bowl Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Roger Craig Super Bowl Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Elliott Sadler raced in NASCARs inaugural Chase, competing with Mark Martin, Jeremy Mayfield and Jimmie Johnson for a shot at the championship.Twelve years later, Sadler is back in another first-year Chase, this time in the second-tier Xfinity Series. He is still searching for the first championship of his NASCAR career.Sadler has bounced around teams, series, suffered through lengthy winless droughts and won races over three decades. Its been a long road for the journeyman driver to his best Xfinity ride, driving for buddy Dale Earnhardt Jr. and poised to bust through Saturday and win the series championship.Sadler, one of the more popular drivers in the garage, needs to hold off JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier, and Joe Gibbs Racings Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones. Its winner take all on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway to crown the 2016 champion.Sadler is ready for his moment.I dont look at things as now or never, Sadler said. If I did, I would have quit a long time ago.Sadler had his share of good days at the Cup level, beginning with his 2001 victory at Bristol driving for Wood Brothers. It led him to a ride at Robert Yates Racing and a breakthrough season in 2004, when he won two races, earned a spot in the inaugural Chase for the championship and finished a career-best ninth in points. Sadler was socked with ownership and sponsorship woes in the ensuing years -- he once threatened to sue to stay in the car when the team tried to dump him.He hasnt won a Cup race since 2004 and made only a combined six starts the last two years.I went through a time in my career I could have easily got pushed to the side and never been able to race again, Elliott said. To kind of battle back, put ourselves in this position again means a lot to me and my family. We want to go make the most of it.Sadler underwent a career renaissance in his first season driving for JR Motorsports. He won three races, has 13 top-fives and can take home the title he nearly won twice before (he was series runner-up in 2011 and 2012).Sadlers crew chief Kevin Meendering was suspended for the finale for a lug nut violation at Phoenix International Raceway. Mike Bumgarner will call the shots atop the pit box with a championship at stake.Its all on me, my shoulders, Sadler said. Im the quarterback, Im the leader of the team. I know that Mike is going to feed off of me and follow my lead.Sadler also wants to win one for mom. Sadlers mother has fought breast cancer since 2009 and was recently hospitalized wiith a gallbladder issue.ddddddddddddShe came by to visit me (Wednesday) night to send me off on my way before I came down, Sadler said. Shes back to her old ways. She wants her son to be focused. Thats her text message I get before every race: Stay focused.Here are other things to watch as JGR takes on JR Motorsports for the biggest prize in the Xfinity Series:SUAREZ SHINESSuarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national race in June at Michigan.Even though Suarez is part of just a small group of Latinos to find success in NASCAR, it seems as though hes been preparing for a career in racing his entire life.Suarez, 24, grew up around cars in Monterrey, learning the ins and outs of racing hanging out in his fathers car restoration shop. Suarez began racing when he was 11, and by the time he was a teenager it was clear he had a future in the sport.Suarez landed a full-time ride in the Xfinity Series in 2015 with Joe Gibbs Racing. He has two wins this season and NASCAR is banking on Suarez to become its breakthrough international star.Hopefully, I can get an opportunity to win the championship and have some fun, have some fun with everyone that has been supporting me a lot here in the U.S., in M?xico, and the entire Latin-American people, he said.JONESING FOR A TITLEThe 20-year-old Jones is competing in his first full season driving in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won the Trucks Series championship last season and filled in for an injured Kyle Busch in Sprint Cup. Hell move next season to the Cup series and team with Martin Truex Jr. at Furniture Row Racing. FRR switched to Toyota this season and formed a technical alliance with JGR.For sure, a long-term goal of mine, especially after we got the Truck championship, was to try to go chase down all three, Jones said. It would be a big deal for me to go to Homestead two years in a row and win championships in two different series.JGR has won 18 of 32 Xfinity races -- a combined six for Jones and Suarez.ALLGAIER, TOOAllgaier and Sadler both carry the banner for JR Motorsports. Allgaier, though, is winless this season and has only three wins in 306 career starts.Look, a championship is a championship. If we get that route without a win, Ill still be extremely happy and take that championship trophy to the house, he said. I would love to have a win. But there is still one chance to win a race. ' ' '