Benson Henderson is ready to face the best the world has to offer, but he’ll be doing it in a different weight class for the foreseeable future.
After successfully rolling the dice in a higher weight class against dangerous striker Brandon Thatch back in February, the former lightweight champion has decided to vacate his place as a major player in the 155-pound collective and join the ranks of the talent-stacked welterweight division. With his long-held perennial contender status in the lightweight fold going strong, Henderson’s decision to commit himself to a new division came as a surprise to some in the MMA community.
“Fighting at welterweight is the plan now and we are working on building my body for 170 pounds the right way,” Henderson told Bleacher Report. “I want to be as explosive as possible, but not gain too much size. We want to pretty much stay the size we are now, but want to be stronger and have the weight cut be more manageable and not be a soul-crushing experience.
“The size difference is definitely something I’m going to have to adjust to,” he continued. “I spar with different sized guys all the time, but it’s another thing to go out there in a live fight. It was good to go in there and experience that against Thatch, and to come out with that experience being a positive one. It definitely opened the doors up to this decision. We wanted to test the waters and it was a short notice fight at elevation. That’s probably the most undersold or least talked-about element of that fight is it was not only a short notice fight, but that it came at elevation in Denver.”
Yet, Smooth is a fighter who is always looking for new ways to challenge and motivate himself, and the MMA Lab representative is fired up about moving up and trying to reach the top of the mountain in the 170-pound ranks. It’s an ambitious undertaking for Henderson, but facing the toughest tests available has been a hallmark of his time competing at the highest level of the sport.
For Henderson, the fight game is not about finding some form of mythical traction, because the safest move would have been to remain in the lightweight division or drop down a class like so many other fighters before him have done.
“I’ve never been the type of individual to run with the crowd,” Henderson said. “If everyone is doing something I’m not going to be the guy who also does it just because. I like the idea of going up in weight because there are so many great tests for me there. The idea of going down in weight never appealed to me because the idea of fighting smaller guys does nothing for me. Why not truly test yourself and move up to face competition that are bigger and stronger than you are?
“Those are the fights that interest me because I love testing myself as a mixed martial artist and pushing my boundaries. A lot of guys in this sport say they’ll fight anyone, anywhere at any time, but when the UFC calls they have a reason why they can’t take the fight. I’ve been saying I’ll fight whoever for a long time and I back it up.”
Instead of traveling the path of least resistance, Henderson is looking for the spark that comes with facing uncertainty inside the Octagon. He believes competing in the deep waters of the welterweight division will bring out his best, as it will put his confidence and skills to the maximum test each and every time he enters the cage.
Furthermore, Henderson is looking to turn the best he has to offer into becoming a two-divisional champion under the UFC banner, and it’s a road he’s excited to travel down.
“I just want the quickest route to a title,” Henderson said. “I don’t care if that’s at 155 or 170; I just want to get to the title. But I look at everyone on the lightweight roster and I’m confident I can go five rounds with and beat anybody in the division. [Rafael] dos Anjos? We can do it tonight and I’ll get my hand raised. Anthony Pettis? I’ll go five rounds with him tonight and get my hand raised. I feel very confident that I can beat everybody and anybody at lightweight, but it isn’t quite the same thing at 170.
“It’s all about getting to the title in the quickest route possible. We looked at things and think it’s a quicker path for me at 170 because dos Anjos is currently holding the title. Even though he beat me due to an early stoppage in my opinion, the UFC made it clear I was going to have to take a lot of steps before I got another title shot at 155. We’re hoping to make a big splash at welterweight and get a big-name draw right out of the gates.”
Henderson’s high-profile status in the lightweight ranks is precisely the caliber of recognition that would appeal to a hungry contender on the rise, but that hasn’t exactly been the case as of late.
The Arizona-based fighter’s versatile, cardio-driven attack has proven to be a difficult matchup for anyone who tangles with him inside the cage, and the type of fight he brings apparently isn’t necessarily welcoming in an environment where winning dictates value, and in some cases continued employment with the UFC.
When those circumstances are added to a recent loss to the fighter who would go on to become the 155-pound champion, Rafael dos Anjos, it creates a scenario where Henderson would have to travel an extended path to reach another championship opportunity. And that’s not something he’s interested in.
The 31-year-old cardio machine is hungry to get back into a heated title race and sees the welterweight division as the best place for him to put his bid in. By doing so, Henderson knows he’s once again jumping into a high-stakes situation, but those are the exact conditions he’s looking for. Henderson wants each test to mean more than the last, and he’s confident he’ll be able to truly test his skills against the larger competition that’s waiting for him in the 170-pound division.
“There aren’t a lot of guys at lightweight who wanted to fight me, but we are hoping one of the bigger names at 170 will be up for it,” Henderson said. “I’m hoping they look at me and take the matchup because they’ll be bigger and stronger and think they can beat me up. And since I have a decent name and it would be an easy fight for them they would jump at the chance to fight me.
“On my side of things, getting my hand raised against a guy who is top-ranked in the welterweight division would put me right up near the top where I want to be, but things haven’t really worked out that way so far. There haven’t been any takers at 170 who want to dance, either.
“I’m a tough matchup for anyone,” he added. “If you are a hardcore takedown specialist who needs to get me to the ground to win the fight you’re going to have a really hard time doing that. If you are a stand-up guy I’m willing to fight you there as well. In my last fight with Donald Cerrone, even though he got his hand raised in an interesting decision, I went toe-to-toe with him for the entire fight. I’m stylistically a tough matchup for a lot of people, and I don’t see that changing at welterweight.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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