Benson Henderson News

Drake Riggs - April 27, 2019

Following the first match-up featuring former champions, Bellator 220’s main card rolled on as the former WEC and UFC lightweight king, Benson Henderson returned. Standing across from him was the rising contender, Adam Piccolotti. Each fighter was looking to extend their winning streaks to three straight and make their cases for the next shot at the 155-pound crown.

Drake Riggs - April 26, 2019

When it comes to the discussion of who is the greatest lightweight fighter of all time, debates can’t be had without the mention of the former WEC and UFC king, ‘Smooth’ Benson Henderson. Continuously underappreciated throughout his reigns as champion, Henderson was as active of a champion as any and constantly looking for a fight. Although no longer the champion, that attitude remains the same with a similar goal in mind.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2019

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is now firmly embedded as a member of the Bellator roster. In fact, he’s set to return to the cage at Bellator 220 this weekend, where he’ll take on Adam Piccolotti in a lightweight contender bout. As he prepares for this imminent challenge, Benson Henderson is happy to have put some distance between himself and the drama that is currently plaguing the UFC lightweight division. He’s witnessed the heat between reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former champion Conor McGregor, and the difficulty top contenders like Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson have had getting title shots, and he’s thanking the Lord that he’s no longer in the thick of it.

Mike Straus - April 24, 2019

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) isn’t the only show streaming live Saturday night as Bellator 220 will go head to head with the MMA juggernaut. While Bellator has a habit of filling up the undercard with local fighters to help move ticket sales, that often times affects the quality of fights the fans get. There’s no denying the strength of the five-fight main card that will stream live via DAZN. However, the prelims fall a bit short of what one would expect from a card of this magnitude.

Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the action-packed Bellator 208 card, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson picked up a dominant decision win over longtime Bellator lightweight contender Saad Awad. In his post-fight interview with Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy, Benson Henderson could have taken a moment to call for another Bellator title shot, or perhaps a rematch with fellow lightweight contender Patricky Freire. Instead, however, the former champion used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to admonish UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor for their infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl.

Chris Taylor - October 13, 2018

A key lightweight bout between former UFC champion Benson Henderson and perennial contender Saad Awad took place at tonight’s Bellator 208 event. Benson Henderson (25-8 MMA) was last seen in action at Bellator 196 where he scored a second-round submission win over Roger Huerta. “Smooth” has gone 2-3 since joining the Bellator ranks in April of 2016.

Chris Taylor - April 1, 2018

Exclusive | Benson Henderson’s plan going forward: “Finishes, finishes, finishes!” Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson (24-8 MMA) has had a rough start to his Bellator MMA carrer.

Tom Taylor - March 29, 2018

Former UFC lightweight champ and current Bellator lightweight contender Benson Henderson has been in some very close fights over the course of his illustrious career. Sometimes, the judges have scored these razor-close fights in his favor. Other times, they haven’t…

Drake Riggs - March 12, 2018

News broke today that has completely shaken up the Bellator 196 card that takes place on April 6th in Budapest, Hungary. Originally slated to be a featherweight confrontation between young Irish prospect, James Gallagher vs Adam Borics has now turned into the exact opposite: A clash of former grizzled UFC veterans.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

It looks like we have another potential rising star on our hands, but there are a lot of people pumping the brakes. Rightfully so though, if you look back at the group of hyped prospects that have ended up being pushed too soon or falling short in the long run. Sean O’Malley sure seems to have all the tools, especially after UFC 222, but he’s only three years into this sport. However, anyone who doubts him can turn to former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, who is here to help convince you that O’Malley will be wearing gold sooner or later. If you can’t see him w/a belt around his waist you better get your 👀 checked. There’s real🔥 behind his flash. And he’s in a room where 🗣 is cheap & it doesn’t matter who you are or what you did, you’re pushed everyday by our brothers & sisters.#YouGotTeammates #WeGotBrothers https://t.co/Sk8vIcIQJb

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2017

Last night, in the main event of Bellator 183, Benson Henderson fought to yet another split decision, this time opposite long-time Bellator contender Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Though Henderson has won his fare share of split decisions in the past, he lost this one. Whether the judges got it right or not (the MMA community didn’t seem sure), he is now a tough 1-3 in the Bellator cage, and as such, he believes it’s time for a change in his fighting style. “I think that either way, win or lose, I need to stop having close fights,” Henderson told MMAJunkie.com post-fight. “(People say), ‘Oh, it was kind of close, maybe you could have won, you could have lost.’ Like, those close fights are killing me. It’s always nice to win a close fight, win a close split decision, but just being in close decision, close split decision, split decision (all in a row) – those are just too close to have. You can’t have those. You have to have a better performance win or lose. You got to be in more decisive battles. It sucks.”

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2017

Last night, Bellator MMA returned to San Jose, California with the stacked Bellator 183. In the card’s main event, we watched former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson collide with long-time Bellator lightweight contender Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. As is so often the case when it comes to Benson Henderson fights, this one was incredibly close. For three rounds, we watched Henderson relentlessly pursue the takedown, effectively shutting down Pitbull’s offense as he did, while Pitbull denied all of those takedown attempts, depriving Henderson of the opportunity to rack up points in the judges’ eyes.

bjpenndotcom - May 5, 2017

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has earned the reputation as one of the most polite, and well spoken fighters in the world. After fighting out his contract with the UFC, Henderson signed with Bellator MMA in 2016. In his first Bellator MMA fight, the former champ dropped a unanimous decision to Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 153 for the Bellator welterweight championship. Just four months later, ‘Smooth’ picked up a TKO win over Patricio Freire, also winning his first fight under the Bellator MMA banner. Unfortunately for Henderson, in his most recent fight he dropped a split decision to Michael Chandler for the Bellator lightweight championship.

bjpenndotcom - April 29, 2017

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has been competing under the Bellator MMA banner for the past two years. Following a 2-fight win streak under the UFC banner in 2015, Henderson decided to test the free agency market, and ultimately opt to sign with Bellator MMA. Henderson made his promotional debut under the Bellator MMA banner in 2016, where he fought Andrey Koreshkov for the Bellator MMA welterweight title. Henderson lost the fight via unanimous decision, before then bouncing back by picking up a TKO win over Patricio Freire at Bellator 160. Unfortunately for Henderson, he ended 2016 with a split decision loss to Michael Chandler for the Bellator lightweight title.

bjpenndotcom - December 3, 2016

Former UFC lightweight kingpin Benson Henderson has been competing under the Bellator MMA banner throughout 2016. In April, ‘Smooth’ made his Bellator MMA debut as he stepped into the cage as a welterweight to fight Andrey Koreshkov for the Bellator welterweight championship. Unfortunately for the former UFC champ, he dropped a unanimous decision to Koreshkov. In his second Bellator MMA appearance, Henderson picked up a TKO win over former Bellator champion Patricio Freire in a lightweight title eliminator. Unfortunately for Henderson, in his next fight, which took place in November, he dropped a split decision to Michael Chandler in what many believed to be a ‘Fight of the Year’ performance.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2016

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to the SAP Center in San Jose, California with Bellator 165. In the card’s main event, reigning Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler attempted to defend his title against former WEC and UFC lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson. Though Chandler would ultimately succeed on this mission, Henderson did not make it easy for him.

bjpenndotcom - September 29, 2016

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has had his own issues with referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy, but ‘Smooth’ says he would never have considered kicking him, as Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson did on Saturday. Following a crushing uppercut that sent opponent ‘Bigfoot’ Silva crashing to the mat, Nelson finished the fight with some ground-and-pound, causing what ‘Big Country’ believed to be a very late stoppage against a personal friend.

Russell Ess - August 14, 2016

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson made a bold move to leave the UFC for Bellator for what he believes is a better overall package. In doing so, Henderson said on The MMA Hour recently that his move is already reassuring him of the choice in terms of sponsor pay.