Benson Henderson News

Mike Straus - April 28, 2019

Bellator 220, from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, is a wrap. With a whopping 18 fights on the night (including the usual Bellator post-lims) there were plenty of opportunities for fighters to make a statement. Let us take a deeper look and see what fighters showed out in Central Cali.

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.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

Former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will continue to fight in Bellator for the foreseeable future. The news of Henderson re-signing was first reported by MMAJunkie. It is being reported that Henderson’s contract is an “exclusive, long-term deal” with Bellator. However, it is not known how many fights the contract is for or when Henderson will return to the cage.

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.

Jason Kindschy - March 28, 2018

Another STACKED episode of BJPENN.COM Radio has arrived, Penn Nation! We kick things off with former UFC lightweight champion and current Bellator MMA star, Benson Henderson. Following the announcement that James Gallagher would not be competing at Bellator 196 in Budapest next weekend, Benson answered the call to save the card and now faces another MMA veteran in Roger Heurta. We’ll preview the fight in the usual “Smooth” fashion, discuss what he’d like to accomplish in 2018, and we’ll hear Ben’s interesting take on how to fix judging in MMA.

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.”

Russell Ess - September 15, 2017

While the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fight lived up to the excitement that many were hoping for, not everyone was thrilled. For example, former UFC lightweight champion and current Bellator star Benson Henderson was not a fan of the matchup or even how things played out in the boxing ring. Henderson spoke with ESPN on why he feels the money fight was bad for MMA and its future.

Scott Hernandez - 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.

Scott Hernandez - 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.

Scott Hernandez - 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 18, 2016

On December 17, when the UFC returns to Sacramento, California, rising welterweight Bryan Barberena will take on highly regarded prospect Colby Covington. If he defeats Covington, he’ll extend his win-streak to three, having taken out Sage Northcutt and Warlley Alves in his last two bouts. Despite the big stakes of this upcoming bout, Barberena recently took time out of his busy schedule for an interview with BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor.

Scott Hernandez - 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.