Certain things simply do not matter to Benson Henderson.
Where the current landscape of mixed martial arts is filled with fighters who proclaim they will step in against any opponent whenever the opportunity is presented to them, the truth of the matter is that very few fighters actually put forth the actions to back up their claims. Competing at the highest level of MMA is a business plain and simple, yet there are certain athletes who are driven by something outside of the typical scope.
Alongside his close friend and three-time scrap partner Donald Cerrone, the MMA Lab leader envelops a different mind-set to the fight game in the modern era. Both possess a willingness to fight anyone, anytime, anywhere, and their respective track records reflect this aggressive approach.
Even though Cowboy has put an emphasis on the financial aspect of chasing down and making opportunities, there is still an elevate love for throwing down driving him to make those decisions.
Things are similar but different on Henderson’s side of the equation. The former WEC and UFC lightweight champion is fueled by competition and the chance to push and test his skills at their limits. There is certainly a love for the scrap where Smooth is concerned, but the fight in itself is more about overcoming the obstacle directly in front of him.
“I’ve always been willing to fight anyone at anytime,” Henderson told Bleacher Report. “When you are defending a title it can’t be a short notice fight against any random person. Those fights have to make sense in the bigger picture of a division. But I’ve always been willing to go at anytime—same as Cerrone—and that is what made the WEC so exciting and successful or whatnot. When guys have that mentality you are going to have exciting fights. I’ve been that way for a long time, man.
“I’ve asked the UFC plenty of times over the past few years for anything I could get short notice, and I was always surprised how Cowboy gets these fights. I’ve asked time and time again when there was a situation available. I would see someone get hurt then hit up Dana [White] and Joe Silva to let them know I’m willing to take the fight, and the answer was always no.”
That game mentality is what sparked the Arizona transplant to seek out another booking from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva immediately following his razor-thin decision loss to Cerrone at Fight Night 59 in Boston on Jan. 18.
When the UFC slated him to face Jorge Masvidal at Fight Night 63 on April 4, an injury to Stephen Thompson provided an opening in the main event at Fight Night 60 to face Brandon Thatch in Broomfield, Colorado, on Feb. 14.
Two high-profile fights in less than one month is a turnaround the majority of fighters wouldn’t tackle, but Henderson isn’t like other fighters.
“The competitor in you very much despises a loss and wants to get back in there and get a win back underneath you. That was the thought for getting back in there as soon as possible. Originally, Joe Silva said the earliest they had was April 4 against Jorge Masvidal. I said, ‘Sure. Done. Sign me up.’
“I was already bugging Joe about me taking a short notice fight. I told him 155 would be hard for me to make on short notice. Physically I could do it, but I wouldn’t perform well making that weight on one or two weeks’ notice. But if you have a short notice fight for me at 170, I’m all for it. We’ve been thinking about dabbling at 170 for awhile and seeing how it works out for us, and it just so happened that they needed it. Joe Silva text me last Saturday a few fights before Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz fight, and he wanted to know how serious I was about taking a short notice fight at 170. I told him I’ll take whatever he was offering.
“I’m not one of those guys who just talks the talk,” he added. “I actually back it up. Joe offered up Denver, Colorado, against Brandon Thatch in a main event. I said, ‘Cool. Let’s do it.'”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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