Benson Henderson News

Chris Taylor - March 10, 2023

Usman Nurmagomedov puts his lightweight title on the line against former UFC champion Benson Henderson in tonight’s Bellator 292 main event. Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since claiming the lightweight world title with a unanimous decision victory over Patricky Pitbull. The Russian phenom has gone 5-0 since joining the Bellator ranks in April of 2021.

Josh Evanoff - March 9, 2023

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is planning on ending his career soon. ‘Smooth’ has been out of action since his win over Peter Queally last September. That victory was a big one for the former champion, as it was his second in a row. Henderson had previously upset the massively favored Islam Mamedov earlier in the year.

Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker has revealed some big plans for this year. The Showtime-based promotion is prone to doing some ideas that are a bit outside the box. Recently, the promotion traveled to Japan to send five of their best fighters against five of RIZIN’s best. Bellator wound up sweeping the matchups, with names like A.J. McKee and Patricio Pitbull picking up big wins.

Chris Taylor - September 23, 2022

Tonight’s Bellator 285 event is headlined by a key lightweight contest featuring Benson Henderson taking on Peter Queally. Henderson (30-11 MMA), a former UFC lightweight champion, most recently competed back in January where he earned a split decision victory over Islam Mamedov. That win had snapped a three-fight losing skid for ‘Smooth’, as he had previously suffered defeats to Michael Chandler, Jason Jackson and Brent Primus.

Susan Cox - February 2, 2022

Benson Henderson, 38, has been competing for Bellator MMA in the lightweight division and is currently ranked at #3. Henderson, a former UFC lightweight champion (28-11 MMA) fought Islam Mamedov (20-1 MMA) at Bellator 273, last Saturday, January 29th in Phoenix, Arizona. The result was Henderson defeating Mamedov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Chris Taylor - January 29, 2022

Tonight’s Bellator 273 event is co-headlined by a lightweight bout featuring former UFC champion Benson Henderson taking on Islam Mamedov. Henderson (28-11 MMA) will be looking to snap the first three-fight losing streak of his career this evening in Phoenix. ‘Bendo‘ last competed back in October, where he suffered a decision loss to Brent Primus.

Chris Taylor - January 29, 2022

Former lightweight champion Benson Henderson has shared his thoughts on Francis Ngannou’s contract dispute with the UFC. Despite cementing his status as the “baddest man on the planet” at last weekend’s UFC 270 event, Ngannou’s future with the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion remains up in the air.

Chris Taylor - January 29, 2022

Bellator 273 takes place this evening in Phoenix, a ten-bout fight card headlined by Ryan Bader vs. Valentin Moldavsky. Bader (28-7 MMA), the promotions reigning heavyweight champion, will be returning to the division for the first time in twenty-eight months. ‘Darth’ has spent his last three contests competing at light heavyweight, where he went 1-2, this while dropping the 205lbs title to Vadim Nemkov.

Chris Taylor - October 16, 2021

A key lightweight contest between Benson Henderson and Brent Primus took place on the main card of tonight’s Bellator 268 event in Phoenix. Henderson (28-11 MMA), a former UFC champion, was looking to snap a two-fight losing skid when he took to the cage this evening. ‘Bendo’ had suffered a unanimous decision loss to Jason Jackson in a welterweight contest in his most previous effort.

Chris Taylor - October 16, 2021

A key lightweight contest between Benson Henderson and Brent Primus takes place on the main card of tonight’s Bellator 268 event in Phoenix. Henderson (28-10 MMA), a former UFC champion, will be looking to snap a two-fight losing skid this evening. ‘Bendo‘ suffered a unanimous decision loss to Jason Jackson in a welterweight contest his last time out.

Chris Taylor - October 16, 2021

MMA action returns to Phoenix this evening for Bellator 268, a thirteen-bout fight card headlined by Vadim Nemkov vs. Julius Anglickas. Nemkov (14-2 MMA) will be looking to earn his second career title defense, this while securing a spot in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix finals. The Russian standout last competed in April where he scored a unanimous decision victory over Phil Davis.

Cole Shelton - October 13, 2021

Brent Primus has been asking for a big-name opponent for quite some time and he gets his wish on Saturday night at Bellator 268. Primus returned in July and lost a controversial split decision to Islam Mamedov in a fight many thought he won. After the fight, he asked his management and Bellator for a high-profile fight. He got just that as he will face Benson Henderson on Saturday in Arizona.

Drake Riggs - October 12, 2021

Benson Henderson knows a thing or two about being a champion in the 155-pound lightweight division. The former WEC and UFC titleholder secured four total title defenses throughout his illustrious career which puts him right in the mix with some of his fellow greats such as BJ Penn and Khabib Nurmagomedov. When it comes to who deserves the top spot as all-time best, “Smooth” has some thoughts.

Adam Martin - November 10, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is set to return to the welterweight division when he fights Jason Jackson at Bellator 253. Bellator 253 takes place on Thursday, November 19 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Henderson vs. Jackson is set to be the co-main event for the card, which features a five-round main event between featherweights AJ McKee and Darrion Caldwell. Also on the card is Keith Lee (brother of UFC star Kevin Lee) vs. top prospect Raufeon Stots, plus the return of Kevin Ferguson Jr. (son of the late Kimbo Slice).

Adam Martin - October 18, 2020

Bellator lightweight contender Benson Henderson sent a heartfelt message to his teammate The Korean Zombie, calling TKZ “an inspiration.” Henderson and The Korean Zombie have trained together in Arizona the MMA Lab and Fight Ready so they are very familiar with each other, not to mention the fact they both fought together in the UFC and in the WEC. The two have become close friends over the years and so even when the other man is the one in the cage, it feels like the other is also in there.

Chris Taylor - August 7, 2020

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler squared off with Benson Henderson for a second time in tonight’s Bellator 243 event. In the pairs first encounter back at Bellator 165 in November of 2016, it was Chandler who emerged victorious by way of split-decision.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2020

In the main event of Bellator 243, Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson are having a rematch nearly four years in the making. The first fight took place in 2016 where Chandler won a split decision. Heading into the rematch, Chandler is a -235 favorite while the former UFC champion is a +185 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe the three-time Bellator lightweight champion in Chandler will get his hand raised again.

Harry Kettle - July 15, 2020

According to a recent report from Combate, Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson’s proposed rematch is set to go down on August 7. The two veterans last fought back at Bellator 165 in November 2016, and on that night, Chandler beat Henderson via split decision to retain the Bellator Lightweight Championship. They were first scheduled to run it back in December 2019 for Bellator’s co-promotion event with Rizin in Japan, but an injury for Henderson ensured that didn’t happen.